Sodor's Precious Jewel
by Rosie Angelina
Summary: For a long time it was believed that female steam engines did only exist in the dreams. But one day, the dream came true when a beautiful emerald came to Sodor as an angel's gift. (Preceded by *Heart to Heart*)
1. A Prayer to an Angel

**A/N:** This is my third friendship story, and its events take place during the seventh and eighth seasons.

I would like to clarify that I'm not a Lady-fan (please don't complain! My children love TATMR and some people might favor it a little too), but I accept that she's officially the first female steam engine in the TV show, so I found it unfair not to include her in some way in this story. But I've decided to give her a different role than the one that she has in TATMR, because, in my opinion, a 'magical engine' doesn't fit into the universe created by the Rev Awdry. The idea for her role in this story came to my mind inspired by the fact that she had appeared to Thomas in a dream in *Calling All Engines* to give him advice. I discovered that she could help me to explain some of the mysteries of the Island of Sodor, and I must say that I'm really satisfied with her help.

I want to dedicate this story to my friend AaronCottrell97. This should have been a gift on his birthday, but due to my occupations I couldn't do it on time. But better late than never, right? Aaron, this is my 'late Christmas gift' for you. Hope you like, for you've inspired me to write it. :D

Thanks to Jeremy for helping me as always! :)

 **HAPPY 2017 EVERYONE!**

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Thomas  & Friends. All recognisable characters belong to HiT Entertainment. They are used for entertainment purposes only.

The OC **Gabriel Sand** belongs to me.

Historical characters: **Sir Nigel Gresley** (19/06/1876*5/04/1941) and **James Stirling** (2/10/1835*12/01/1917)

* * *

 **CHAPTER I  
**

 **A PRAYER TO AN ANGEL**

* * *

 _"We'll be honoured by her presence... She'll be the flower of our garden..."_ -Thomas

* * *

"Thomas..." said Edward, "stop laughing, please?" Thomas obeyed, but just for one minute. "Thomas," insisted Edward, "it's too late... We must sleep." Thomas tried to stop laughing by pressing his lips, but without success. Edward got angry. "THOMAS!"

"I'm sorry EdwaHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Oh, dear..." Poor Nº 2 rolled his eyes.

It was late at night and Thomas did not stop laughing. All the engines were already cross with him, although, at first, all of them had been in his favour. All of them had been in his favour except Gordon, of course, since he was the target of Thomas' laugh.

"I'm the fastest engine on Sodor!" Thomas imitated Gordon's voice. "Express coming throuuuuuuugh! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Why don't you go to sleep somewhere else, you silly little tank engine?" suggested Gordon.

"I was about to propose him the same," affirmed Henry.

"We should call the police to arrest him," opined James, "otherwise we won't sleep tonight."

Thomas had reason enough to be excited. In the morning, he had collected a jet engine from Brendam Docks to take it to the airfield. But when he was coupled up to the truck, Cranky's hook accidentally hit the switch of the jet engine causing it to turn on. And Thomas went flying across Sodor in a supersonic speed... That's why he was so excited now. His dream of going as fast as Gordon had come true. And he had actually gone FASTER than Gordon.

"Hi, Gordon! Bye, Gordon! Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed Thomas, remembering what he said when he had overtaken Gordon through the main line.

"Knock it off, Thomas! You'll never be as fast as me unless that another miracle like today happens."

"Admit it, Gordon; you had never been so surprised! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Ohhhh…"

At this point, Edward was already about to agree to call the police to arrest Thomas. But since Gordon mentioned 'miracle', it occurred to him to ask for help from heaven. So, Edward took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. "Oh, Angel of the Engines!" he exclaimed. "Please, make Thomas keep silent so we can sleep."

A stony silence seized the Tidmouth Sheds for a few seconds. Everyone was staring at Edward in surprise.

"What's that, Edward?" asked a sweet voice.

"A little prayer, Percy."

"I mean… what 'Angel of the Engines' is."

"Oh… Don't you know that we engines have an angel too?"

"Well… n-no."

"And do the others know it?"

"NO," it was the general answer.

With that, Edward thought perhaps hearing a story might distract Thomas from his bad behaviour. "Then, would all of you like to hear the story of our angel?" he asked.

"YEEESSS!"

"Okay. Pay attention." Edward cleared his throat. "This hap-"

"Hey, Edward!" interrupted Thomas with his cheeky smile. "Could that angel make me faster than Gordon? Hee! Hee!"

Edward frowned at him. His patience was big but not infinite, and this time Thomas had stretched it. "Thomas, do you want to hear a story or… a scolding?"

Thomas' smile faded. The last thing he would want in life is that Edward gets angry with him. "I'm sorry…" he whispered. "I want to hear the story."

"That's better," responded Edward. "Well, as I said, this happened a long time ago, in a village in England called Netherseal. It was a cold Christmas morning, and a little boy named Nigel watched the snow from his bedroom window. He was only 4-years-old, but he was already such a fan of trains that he dreamed of working on the railways when he was older. But besides that, he also dreamed that engines had life as people. And as he watched the snow in this Christmas morning, it happened something very special…"

* * *

A few metres above the snow, a cloud of golden dust suddenly began to form. The dust particles moved in such a way that they took the form of a small steam engine, and in front of the engine's smoke-box, it could clearly see a beautiful female human face. Little Nigel was amazed. "Wow!" he exclaimed. Then he approached the window until he almost touched the glass with the tip of his nose. So he could see that the engine was looking at him. "Hello, my sweet Nigel," said the engine with a soft voice.

"Ohhhh…" Nigel could barely believe that the engine had spoken to him. "How do you know my name?" he asked innocently.

"I know all about you," responded the engine, "because I'm an angel."

"Oh! I didn't know that angels had engine's form and woman's face!"

The angel smiled. "In reality, this is just the form I've taken for you to see something concrete. I'm here to tell you that I'll make your dream of seeing living engines come true."

Nigel opened his eyes wide and stayed open-mouthed. "Can you really do that?"

"Yes. But I'll need your help."

"Of course I'll help you! What should I do?"

"First of all, you must grow and become a railway engineer. Then, I'll need you to design engines with a face in front of their smoke-boxes."

"Just like the one you have?"

"Exactly. And then, when the engines are totally built, I'll use the flame of human love to give them live. They'll open their eyes as their boilers begin to bubble."

"Wooow... And will the engines be able to speak with people?"

"Absolutely. And they'll have human feelings, being able to love and feel happiness or sadness according to circumstances."

"That sounds amazing! Thank you for making my dream come true!"

"It's a pleasure, Nigel."

"Oh... but..." Nigel felt a bit sad, "it's still a long time before that happens..."

"Don't worry. Time passes very fast. Just enjoy your childhood now, and you'll see that in the twinkling of an eye you'll already be designing your engines."

Nigel felt happy again. "I'll design big, strong, fast engines, and they'll be very famous."

"I'm sure you will. Well, I must return to heaven. See you, my sweet Nigel."

"Wait, lady! You didn't tell me your name... How should I call you in my prayers?"

The angel looked at him tenderly. "Just call me... Lady."

Nigel smiled. "See you, Lady."

And Lady disappeared in her cloud of golden dust.

As soon as the cloud had dissipated, Nigel ran to find his parents to tell them what had happened. He found them near the fireplace.

"Dad! Mum!" he exclaimed. "When I grow up, I'm going to design engines that speak with people!"

His parents smiled at him. They knew that Nigel loved the engines and wanted to be able to speak with them. "Of course you will, son," said his father. "You'll be an excellent railway engineer," added his mother.

"I know. I just saw the angel who will help me to give them live."

His parents looked at each other in surprise. It is not common that people see angels. His father thought that maybe it was just his infantile imagination, since kids dream about many things, especially at Christmas. But his mother suddenly remembered that he had born so fragile that everyone thought he would not survive, but fortunately, Nigel survived. So, she looked at him tenderly and caressed his cheek. "An angel protected your precious life the day you've born," she said. "Perhaps it was that angel the one you just saw. It wanted you to know that you'll do great things."

Nigel smiled widely and hugged his parents.

Several years later, when Nigel finally became a railway engineer, he designed an engine with a male human face. Some of his workmates thought he was crazy, and they told him that childhood dreams are just childhood dreams and it would never be possible to build a living engine. But Nigel knew that Lady's appearance had not been a dream and that angels do not lie, so he pushed ahead with his project. And when the engine was built and his boiler began to bubble, the engine opened his eyes...

Nigel burst into tears of happiness.

Lady had used the immense love that humans feel for the engines to work this miracle.

* * *

All the engines were impressed by the story.

"No one could believe it," continued Edward. "The engine began to look from side to side, just like a baby who still can't see the distant things clearly. So Nigel approached him and put a hand on his buffer. His heart pounded as the engine's eyes met his own. 'Hello', said Nigel with a smile. The engine looked into his eyes for some seconds; then he smiled too. 'Hello', he responded. And now everybody cried with emotion. The news spread rapidly throughout the world, and very soon, they began to build engines with human face in all the workshops." Edward smiled at his friends. "So engines are living thanks to an angel and a dreamer little boy who became the famous Sir Nigel Gresley."

"That's the most wonderful story I've ever heard," said Henry.

"It's simply awesome and touching," added Percy. "I was about to cry."

"Edward…" said Gordon, looking at nothing, "have you said… Sir Nigel Gresley?"

Edward smiled. "Yes, Gordon. Your father."

Gordon put on his best smug face. Now he had one more reason to boast. He was one of the _"big, strong, fast engines"_ that his father dreamed to design.

"But why don't all the engines have a life like us, Edward?" asked James.

"That's because not all engineers were interested in designing engines with face," explained Edward. "But there were some of them that decided to experiment with very old engines. They redesigned their smoke-boxes to give them a face, and much to their surprise, those engines also opened their eyes after having their smoke-boxes rebuilt. Lady even made these engines remember their own stories of the past."

"Wow… That's even more impressive," said Henry. "And what about the trucks, coaches, diesel engines and other kind of living machines?"

"They're also alive by human love and Lady's help," responded Edward.

"I wonder if we could see Lady," said Percy.

"She usually appears when an engine is in serious trouble or needs some advice." Edward closed his eyes and smiled. "I've already seen her."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed his friends.

Edward looked at them sweetly. "It was that day in which I suffered an explosion when I was taking a passenger train from the China Clay Works," he said. "I felt so much pain that everything around me turned dark. I thought I was going to faint. But then, in the middle of darkness I could see a golden light… and Lady appeared in there. She encouraged me to take the train back to Knapford."

All the engines were open-mouthed.

"But, Edward..." said Gordon, "why did you never tell us that?"

"Because you have never asked me."

"OH, YOU CHEEKY STEAMER!"

Everyone laughed.

"Speaking of cheeky," said James, "what happened to Thomas?"

Everyone looked at the Nº 1 and saw that he had a blank stare.

Only now Edward noticed that Thomas had been silent since he started to tell his story. "Are you there, Thomas?" he asked.

Thomas blinked a couple of times. "Oh… y-yes," he responded. "I was just thinking… if our angel can give life to any machine with a face, why have the engineers never designed a female steam engine? I really wish to see one."

"Well, I…I don't know…"

"Given that engineers are men, maybe it's easier for them to design male engines," opined Gordon.

"I think Gordon is right," said Henry. "Female engines would have to have certain special characteristics, like a soft voice, for example."

"And many curves just like women," added James. Then he raised his eyebrows. "Hey! Why do you all laugh?! Women have curves!"

"But we are speaking of machines, James," clarified Henry.

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Percy. "There are female coaches, and diesel engines, and lorries… That means it's not so difficult to design a female machine."

"Good observation, Percy," said Edward. "And considering that, my opinion is that perhaps female steam engines already exist, but they still didn't come to Sodor." Edward looked at Thomas. "So, it's just a matter of waiting and... oh, Thomas... you're looking at nothing again... What are you thinking about now?"

Thomas looked at his mentor. "Could it have been Lady who made my dream come true today?" he asked.

"Which dream?"

"Well... this could make you cross with me again... but... my dream it was to go as fast as Gordon at least for once."

Gordon rolled his eyes.

Much to Thomas' surprise, Edward smiled at him. "It could be, Thomas. Lady could have guided Cranky's hook to turn the jet engine on."

"And how can I thank her?"

"The way to thank heaven for a gift is being humble," responded Edward wisely. "The humble are those who accept their limitations and acknowledge their mistakes, and thus they are worthy of more gifts from heaven."

Thomas felt ashamed. He had not been so humble this night. So he looked at Gordon to apologise. "Gordon..." he said, "I'm sorry for having teased you this night... I was just very excited... I've always admired you for being the fastest engine on Sodor, and I dreamed of being able to go as fast as you in order to know what it feels like."

Gordon was so touched by this revelation from Thomas that he smiled at him with affection. "It's alright, Thomas," he responded. "Glad to know that nothing bad happened to you. I don't know what would become of me without my ally."

Thomas blushed and smiled back. "Do you really mean that?"

"Of course. And now I want that our angel makes your other dream come true as well."

"What other dream?"

"To see a female steam engine. We all want to see one indeed."

"Oh..."

"Make a prayer, Thomas," suggested Henry. "Ask Lady to send us a female steam engine."

"Good idea, Henry," said Edward. "Come on, Thomas. Make a prayer on behalf of all of us."

"What? On behalf of all? B-but... why me?"

"Because the prayer of a humble soul comes faster to heaven." Edward winked at him.

Thomas felt he could not refuse. After having made Edward cross due to his bad behaviour, now he would do anything to please him. "Okay," he said. "But how should I do it?"

"Just say what your heart dictates. Lady will understand you."

Thomas was encouraged by Edward's words and smile. So he looked up at the sky and began to pray.

"Oh, Angel of the Engines," he said, "first of all, I want to thank you for having helped the engineers to give us life… and for having made a dream of mine come true today. On the other hand, I would like to ask you something on behalf of my friends... You know, we all want to see a female steam engine... If they exist, please send at least one of them to the Island of Sodor... And if they don't exist; please inspire engineers to design one... We'll be very happy to have a female steam engine on our island... We'll be honoured by her presence... She'll be the flower of our garden... I thank you on behalf of my friends for having heard me."

Not knowing what else to say, Thomas looked at his mentor.

Edward smiled at him. "Amen," he said.

"AMEN," added the other engines.

A gentle breeze caressed Tidmouth Sheds at that moment, and the engines thought that this was proof that their prayer had reached heaven.

"Well," said Henry happily, "I think that after this beautiful conversation we'll all sleep like babies."

"You're right, Henry," said Percy. "We can already sleep now, right Thomas?"

"Yes, Percy... I won't bother you all anymore. Good night everyone."

"GOOD NIGHT!" exclaimed the other engines.

Everyone closed the eyes, except Thomas who stayed looking at Edward...

Thomas felt more fondness than ever for his kind mentor. He knew that Edward, because of his age, got tired faster than the other engines and needed to sleep earlier in the evening. But this night, Edward made the sacrifice of staying awake telling a story and clarifying doubts until late, and all this in order to try to distract him from his bad behaviour... Thomas felt that he would not be able to sleep without first apologising to him. "Edward..." whispered Thomas.

As it was expected, Edward opened his eyes just like a father who awakens from his deepest sleep at the call of his son. "Yes?" he responded.

"I-I made you cross because of my behaviour... I went too far this time… Forgive me… please?"

"Oh…" Edward smiled tenderly. "It's alright," he soothed with his reassuring voice. "Sleep easy, my little one. Sweet dreams."

Thomas smiled back. Every time Edward called him 'my little one' he felt comfortable and protected. And forgiven too. "Thank you, dad," he responded happily.

And both of them closed their eyes.

But the silence in the sheds lasted just a few seconds. It was abruptly interrupted by one engine who had been thoughtful for the last few minutes. It was James...

"That's why I say that a female steam engine must have many CURVES," asserted the Nº 5, "so that she may look different from the other female machines which are totally SQUARE. Just think of how we could distinguish her from Mavis, Annie, Clarabel, Daisy, Elizab-"

"James..."

"Yes, Gordon?"

"Are you going to let us sleep or should we call the police to arrest you?"

"Oh... sorry."

At last, the engines could sleep like babies.

From a cloud, far above the Tidmouth Sheds, an angel was watching them...

"I've heard your prayer, my beloved ones," said Lady softly. "Soon you'll see a female steam engine. And don't you worry, James... She'll have so gorgeous curves that she'll leave you speechless... As for you, Edward, you'll have a prize for being such an excellent father to Thomas... You'll be the first engine on Sodor on feeling romantic love... One day, you'll know a female steam engine who will be a sunshine for you, and you'll be her sky where she'll feel secure." Lady smiled. "Good night, my beloved ones... Sweet dreams."

And Lady disappeared in her cloud of golden dust.


	2. Exotic Beauty

**A/N:** Thank you all for supporting this story! I really appreciate your comments. :)

Guest 4: A joy to see that you like this fic.

Firereads: Edward will fall in love with Molly. Lady is referring to Molly as "sunshine" due to her yellow livery.

* * *

 **CHAPTER II**

 **EXOTIC BEAUTY**

* * *

 _"_ _I'm glad to hear that she had been long awaited by you all."_ -Sir Topham Hatt

* * *

 _ **Doncaster,**_ ** _England. Many years ago._  
**

It was all dark and silent.

There was nothing to see, nothing to hear.

But, although it sounds strange, it was a nice atmosphere. It was a pleasure to be there. Or better said; it was a pleasure to be like that, since it was not a place but a state; the state of a soul that begins to live...

This state did not last long. At one point, the soul could see a golden light in the darkness, and could hear a soft voice coming from there.

"You'll have a maternal heart," said the voice, "a sweet heart that will feel compassion for those who suffer and need help... and all they will love you for that reason... But there will be times when your great motherly love will make you want to be a queen to which all obey... and your attitude would be able to hurt the feelings of those who love you... Then you'll have to struggle to keep a balance between giving advice as a friend and giving orders like a mother... But don't worry... Struggling for virtues is part of life, especially, struggling to obtain the virtue of patience..."

The voice belonged to Lady; the Angel of the Engines.

One steam engine had just had its smoke-box rebuilt, and Lady was there placing the soul inside the machine while its boiler began to heat up. Lady was very excited, because, for the first time, the engineers gave a steam engine a female face.

This engine was a GNR Stirling class 4-2-2, characterised by a single pair of large driving wheels. She had been built many years before at Doncaster Works and was the first of 53 examples. All of the examples had been removed from service and scrapped, except this first machine, for the engineers wanted to preserve her. But they did not want to leave her only as a museum object, but to continue working, and this time as a living engine. So they redesigned her smoke-box and decided to give her a female face, as the engine had many curves and her cylinders were placed in such a way on her sides that the smoke-box resembled a woman's long hair. The engine was in very good condition and looked beautiful with her newly polished emerald-green paint.

As the boiler began to bubble, the soul could feel the machine and was invaded by a pleasant sensation of warmth. It was the exciting beginning of an engine's life.

"Human love is filling your being right now," Lady said to the soul. "All the comfort and joy you're feeling at this moment is thanks to love, for love is the most beautiful thing in life... But you must know, daughter of mine, that love can sometimes cause pain... For that reason, your awakening will be a bit uncomfortable... But don't be afraid... I'm here with you… I'll tell you what to do."

In a short time, the heart of the engine began to work, and soon, the heat inside her was increasing until giving way to a great need of fresh air.

Engines have not a heart like that of humans, but a kind of vibration in the form of beats which indicate that they are alive.

As the heat was already uncomfortable, the engine got worried.

"Breathe, daughter," soothed Lady. "Breathe... Let the air enter."

The engine trembled and, suddenly, she opened her mouth letting the air enter with a long, soft sigh. Relief was immediate. The engine felt that something was caressing her and she continued to breathe between soft sighs until the heat inside her returned to a pleasant level. The caresses helped her relax, and she could breathe normally. At this time she began to be aware of the parts of her machine. So, while she kept with her eyes closed, she focused on feeling her boiler, cab, tender, wheels... And she realised that the caresses that helped her relax were located near her smoke-box, over her running-plate.

Having finished her work, Lady gave an angelic embrace to this new life and returned to heaven. "Be happy, daughter of mine," were her last words.

Now the engine began to hear the sounds from the outside. They were human voices, mixed with machine noises. Some voices in particular could be clearly heard.

"Did you want to show off with this, gentlemen?" asked a calm manly voice. "She's an exotic beauty. My brother would have been very proud of her."

"Thank you, sir Stirling," responded another voice. "I'm sure that the Angel of the Engines will speak to your brother about her there in heaven."

"I agree with you. By the way, has this beauty a name already?"

"Not really, sir. We have decided to grant you the honour of giving this beauty a name."

"Oh... well. Let me think a little."

The engine was eager to see what there was out there, so she slowly opened her eyes. At first she saw everything a little blurry, but in a few seconds she could focus well and was able to clearly distinguish the people who were right in front of her.

The people stared at her in astonishment. Then the engine saw the one who was caressing her running-plate: it was a respectable man of a very advanced age.

"Hello, beautiful," greeted the man with a smile. "You took your time."

The engine looked at him for a while and sweetly pronounced her first word. "H-hello."

As was the case every time an engine was _born_ ; people burst into applause. Some shed tears; others exclaimed _'We did it!';_ others embraced each other.

The _new-born_ was a little frightened by the fuss. "Easy," said the man who was caressing her. "They're simply showing their joy at seeing the first female steam engine." As the fuss ended, the man introduced himself. "I'm James Stirling. My brother Patrick was your father."

The engine smiled. "Pleased to meet you, James."

One worker approached quickly. "You must call him 'sir'," he whispered.

"Oh…" The engine felt ashamed. "Pleased to meet you, sir."

"Don't be ashamed, sweetie," soothed sir Stirling. "Well, it's time to give you a name. Mmm… I'm sure that you'll be a hard-working girl, so... how about 'Emily'?"

"Emily…," whispered the engine. Then she smiled again. "It sounds nice… I like it!"

Sir Stirling smiled back. "Glad to hear that," he said. "So you already have a name. Now, would you like to ride out there, Emily?"

"Yes, sir!" exclaimed Emily. "I would like to see the world."

Sir Stirling was enchanted with Emily. "And the world will be happy to see you. You're the most beautiful engine ever, Emily. I'm sure there will be no one quite like you."

Emily blushed. "Thank you, sir," she responded. Then, she went out of the works for her first ride as a living engine.

Percy was right; it was not so difficult to design a female machine. And Edward was right too; female steam engines already existed, it's just that they had not gone to Sodor yet.

Just like humans, engines do not remember the moment when their soul was created. Even so, everything that Lady had said was engraved in Emily's subconscious mind. But there were three words that she remembered consciously: 'love', 'struggle' and 'mother'...

* * *

Back in the present, it was a summer night on Sodor and a few months had passed since Thomas made his beautiful prayer to Lady.

Sir Topham Hatt was pacing back and forth at Knapford Station. This night was very special for him. He had made the purchase of a tender engine in the morning and was told that it would arrive the next day. But at the last minute there was a change of plans and, in the afternoon, the engine was already on the way to the island.

This engine was not like any other. Sir Topham Hatt had almost spilled his cup of coffee in the morning when he asked for the engine's name and received "Emily" in response. " _Do you mean a… female steam engine?!"_ he had exclaimed. It is not that he did not know about the existence of these machines, but given that they were quite scarce, he never thought he would see one of them in Sodor. In fact, it was almost a privilege to see a female steam engine…

So Sir Topham Hatt was very excited now while waiting for her. "I hope she arrives soon," he said, looking at his pocket watch. "My wife already called me twice to tell me that dinner is getting cold..."

Meanwhile, not far from Knapford, Emily had just crossed Gordon's Hill. She had seen very few engines during her journey because the main line was almost empty at this time of night. But as she was approaching Suddery Junction, she saw that an engine was coming towards her from the next-door track and she was eager to greet him with her whistle. Then Emily heard that the engine sneeze again and again. _"Oh... bless him,"_ she thought. _"His boiler shall be full of sediments..."_ Unfortunately, the engine moved to a branch line and Emily could not greet him. But at least she could see that it was a big green engine with a number 3 on his tender. _"Tomorrow I'll look for him to know if he's okay."_

Emily continued on her way to Knapford and a little later she arrived at the big station.

Sir Topham Hatt stared at her for a moment, surprised by her beauty. Then he greeted her with a sweet smile. "Good evening, Emily. Welcome to Sodor."

"Good evening, sir," replied Emily returning the smile. "It's a pleasure for me to be here. I always wanted to know this island."

"Glad to hear that. I'm Sir Topham Hatt, your new controller."

"Pleased to meet you, sir. I'm at your disposal for whatever you may need."

"Oh… That's a good engine. Well, a workman will show you the shed where you'll spend the night. And tomorrow morning I'll tell you what to do."

"Yes, sir." Emily found that her new controller was a quite kind man, so she encouraged herself to talk to him about what she had seen some minutes ago. "By the way, sir, if you allow me say it, I've seen one big Nº 3 green engine a short while ago, and I got worried about him because he was… sneezing a lot."

"Oh… yes. It's Henry. He's prone to get sick. But don't worry; he'll go to the Steamworks early in the morning. Anyway thanks for telling me. I see you're very attentive."

Emily blushed. "You're welcome, sir."

At this moment, a worker climbed into Emily's cab to take her to her shed. So Emily said good night to Sir Topham Hatt and went off to rest.

Sir Topham Hatt was impressed by how Emily was so polite and attentive. _"What an engine,"_ he thought satisfied. _"I think this is my best purchase in a long time. I wonder how others will react- oh, no... the telephone again... I bet my wife is already angry!_ _"_ Poor Sir Topham Hatt ran to his office.

Close to there, at Knapford Sheds, Emily relaxed in her berth. _"My new home...,"_ she thought happily. _"I hope I'll be really useful here... and to be friend of everyone... Oh, and I also hope that Henry will spend well this night."_

Emily soon fell asleep, floating on a light steam cloud that made her look even more beautiful.

Emily had no idea that her coming to Sodor was not pure chance but the answer to a prayer. She did not imagine that she was a dream come true. And she still did not know how much affection she would feel for those who had dreamed of her...

* * *

At dawn, the engines at Tidmouth Sheds were getting ready to start their day jobs, and as their boilers heated up, everyone listened attentively to the conversation between the two largest engines.

"I'm sure he's Sir Topham Hatt's new engine. And I tell you that he had giant wheels, much larger than yours."

"First you said that you couldn't see him well because you were sneezing like crazy, and now you say that he had giant wheels..."

"But I did get to see his wheels when I moved to Edward's branch line. They seemed to have the same height as his boiler."

"AAAA-HA-HA-HA! Oh, Henry! Sneezing made you hallucinate!"

"Laugh if you want, Gordon! When you see him you'll realise that I'm not lying."

"Excuse-me for interrupting… We all know that Sir Topham Hatt was in need of another passenger train, so maybe he has bought an express engine."

"Nonsense, Edward! No one is better than me to take the Express."

"Gordon... I've not said he's better than-"

"Besides, big wheels don't make a big engine!"

"Okay. But anyway, it would be better to meet him before you get nervous."

"I'm not nervous!"

"If you say so…"

Everyone laughed.

Gordon was nervous indeed. He felt that his title of "The fastest train on Sodor" was being threatened by the _giant_ wheels of this mysterious engine…

Henry had gone early in the night to take the Flying Kipper because he did not feel well and wanted to be back home as soon as possible. At Suddery Junction he realised that an engine was approaching in the opposite direction, but because of his sneezing he could not see it well. However, as he moved to Edward's branch line he could see the engine's big wheels out of the corner of his eye. And now Gordon was trembling by the news.

As they were ready, all the engines left to start their jobs.

Henry went to the Steamworks and Thomas took his loyal coaches for his first journey of the day. Annie and Clarabel had spent the night right there in Tidmouth, so Thomas did not need to go to Knapford Sheds and therefore he did not see Emily.

At mid-morning, when Thomas returned from his journey and was taking Annie and Clarabel back to Knapford Yards, he saw an unknown engine at the big station. _"Oh... It shall be the engine that Henry saw last night,"_ he thought. _"I want to meet him!"_ So Thomas came in to the station and slowly approached the engine.

Thomas saw that the engine was beautiful. _"Oh, my... He's more splendid than James... and he really has big wheels... And what a fabulous funnel with that gold ring... and those cylinders... and-"_

"Thomas," Sir Topham Hatt interrupted Thomas' thoughts, "meet Emily."

 _"What!? EMILY?!"_ Thomas' heart pounded. _"But... that's a woman's name!"_ He stared at the engine's face and noticed that it really looked like a female face. _"Oh, my Gosh… Can this be possible?!"_ The engine smiled at him sweetly. "H-hello, Emily," Thomas greeted.

"Hello, Thomas." Emily's voice was clearly feminine.

Thomas was close to fainting with excitement. _"Yes! It's HER! It's a female steam engine!"_

"Emily, collect your coaches," said Sir Topham Hatt immediately. "You and your driver must learn the line."

"Yes, sir," replied Emily. Then she blew her high whistle and, before leaving, she smiled at Thomas again.

Thomas smiled back, barely believing what his eyes were seeing. _"She's an exotic beauty!"_ he thought as Emily puffed away. Then he looked at Sir Topham Hatt. "Thanks for bringing a female steam engine, sir!" he exclaimed. "We all had been dreaming of having one on the island."

"Oh…" Sir Topham Hatt chuckled. "Actually, I didn't know it was a female engine until the purchase was made. But I'm glad to hear that she had been long awaited by you all. She's a polite, attentive girl. I hope all of you'll be kind to her."

Thomas was impressed. In addition to being an exotic beauty, Emily was also polite and attentive. That was more than the Steam Team was waiting for. "Of course we'll be kind to her, sir!" he responded. "She'll be our queen!"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! I see, Thomas!" laughed Sir Topham Hatt. "Well, don't stay there. You've work to do."

"Yes, sir!"

And Thomas set off for Knapford Yards.

"This is wonderful, Thomas!" said one of Thomas' coaches. "We've a female steam engine at last."

"You don't imagine how happy I am, Clarabel!"

"I'm Annie..."

"Oh... Ha! Ha!" Thomas laughed with his coaches happily. Then he left them at Knapford Yards and went out to do his following work. He was eager to know his friends' reaction on seeing Emily.

For her part, Emily was also eager to meet her new friends. But, unluckily, she was not going to get such a kind treatment from them on this first ride of hers... Not even from Thomas...


	3. A Flower Looking for a Garden

**A/N:** My dear readers, Emily's story is back for all of you. This is an extended remake of *Emily's New Coaches*, with many details and extra scenes. Hope you like!

* * *

 **CHAPTER III**

 **A FLOWER LOOKING FOR A GARDEN**

* * *

 _"Why does no one greet me?_ _... Don't they want me for I'm a female engine? Oh, no..."_ -Emily

* * *

 _"You'll have a maternal heart,"_ Lady had said when Emily's soul was being created.

And indeed, Emily had it.

While waiting under the water tower for her tank to fill up, Emily remembered the engine she had just met. _"What a sweet little engine,"_ she thought with a smile on her lips. _"Those playful child's eyes... those prominent cheekbones... and that lovely smile... I wonder if Sir Topham Hatt will allow me to work close to him... so I'll be able to see him often and be his friend."_

Meeting Thomas made Emily very happy. Her maternal heart made her see the little tank engines as 'the kids of the railway', and Thomas was the first of those _kids_ she knew in Sodor. So she was immediately delighted with him and wanted to see him again as soon as possible.

As her tank was filled, Emily felt the pats from her driver on her side and puffed up to the yard to collect her coaches. The only coaches that were there were Annie and Clarabel. "These aren't your sort of coaches," said her driver on seeing them, "but I suppose they'll do." And Emily was coupled up to them.

Annie and Clarabel felt insulted. "How dare he say we'll do!" whispered Clarabel. "He's very rude to us!" added Annie. In addition to feeling insulted, Annie and Clarabel thought that they would now be Emily's coaches and they felt even worse. It was not that they did not like the newcomer, but they did not want to be separated from Thomas. But they remained silent because they knew the law of Sir Topham Hatt that said 'Really useful engines don't argue', and that law was also valid for coaches and any other type of machines. So, if Sir Topham Hatt has decided that they would be for Emily, they had no choice but to accept. But anyway, they were very angry at the words of Emily's driver. "How dare he say we'll do!" they murmured as Emily was pulling them.

Emily puffed carefully along the track, concentrating on learning the route and knowing the stations and junctions. Pulling Annie and Clarabel was very important in this ride, as it helped Emily know how fast to go and from what distance to start slowing to arrive at the stations properly. Emily wanted to make a good first impression on her new controller and, of course, on the engines.

At one moment, when Emily was about to reach Maithwaite Station, she saw Thomas approaching in the opposite direction. _"Oh! Here comes the lovely kid of the railway!"_ she thought happily and greeted him with a huge smile as she passed him. "Hello, Thomas!" But for some reason, Thomas looked at her angrily and did not respond to her greeting.

The reason for Thomas' anger was that Emily was pulling Annie and Clarabel. Thomas had seen her in the distance and prepared to greet her, but when he saw her with his coaches, his protective instinct spoke louder. "Those are my coaches!" he exclaimed. "Give them back!" Thomas did not tolerate that another engine was taking his coaches. He thought that no one else could care for Annie and Clarabel and love them as much as he did.

Emily had not heard Thomas' complaint and she went on her way a bit confused. "I don't understand," she said sadly, "he seemed to be angry with me… But… why?" She decided to ignore the incident for the time being and try to make friends with the other engines. Then, she approached a tunnel and noticed there was steam inside it. _"I'm going to say hello to this engine,"_ she thought.

The engine that was coming through the tunnel was Edward.

As soon as he got out of the tunnel, Edward saw Emily approaching and he got speechless. _"Wow,"_ he thought, _"this has to be the new engine... the one of the giant wheels... But... that face looks feminine..."_ Edward's thoughts were interrupted by the engine's whistle and sweet smile. _"Oh, dear… That face IS feminine!"_ Edward was so impressed that he did not respond, he simply looked at Emily with a neutral expression and went on his way. _"I wonder if that exotic beauty was real or I'm having visions..."_

As Edward went away, Emily got sad again. "Why didn't he greet me?" she said.

Later, Emily arrived at Norramby Fishing Village and saw a small engine coming in the opposite direction. It was Percy. _"Wow! What's this!"_ Emily thought as her heart pounded. _"This one doesn't look like a kid of the railway... This is... a baby! A cute, chubby baby!"_ And Emily blew her whistle. But, just like Thomas, Percy looked at her angrily and did not respond. Emily was surprised. _"What does this mean?"_ she wondered. _"Another one who looks at me angrily..."_

And the same thing happened with the other engines she found on her way. Everyone looked at her angrily and no one greeted her.

Now Emily was worried. _"Why does no one greet me?"_ she thought. _"Don't they like newcomers? Or... don't they want me for I'm a female engine? Oh, no... I must prove that I can also be really useful. Maybe that way they'll accept me."_

Emily was sad.

The day which Emily opened her eyes at Doncaster Works, sir James Stirling had told her 'the world will be happy to see you' before taking her first ride. But at this moment, the world seemed to be rejecting her instead of being happy to see her.

As she continued on her way, Emily remembered that ride she took the day she was born...

* * *

The sun's rays caressed her welcoming her to life, and she blinked slowly over and over while her sensitive eyes became accustomed to natural light. Then she pumped her pistons and moved from the turntable, ready to see the world.

On her way she got applause, greetings and compliments, and she responded with her whistle and her pretty smile. People and engines were delighted to see a female steam engine for the first time.

Suddenly, a sweet aroma began to fill her boiler. "What smells so good?" she asked.

"The flowers," responded her driver. "It's spring and the gardens and fields are full of flowers."

"Oh! Can we stop to see a garden?"

"Sure. Soon we'll arrive at a square."

A little further ahead they reached the square and Emily stopped in a siding. The garden was dressed in various kinds of flowers. Emily's driver came out of her cab and taught her the names of each of them.

Emily was enchanted with all the flowers, especially with the red roses. "Those are the prettiest ones," she said. "I just love them! They have a delicious aroma and they look very good next to the green color of their leaves."

"I agree with you," replied the driver. "You know, people associate the red color to love and the green to life. Maybe that's why they look so good together. Love produces life and life holds up love. But at the same time, love also holds up life... They need each other."

"Wow... that sounds amazing." Emily stared at the red roses. "Love and life can't be separate from each other... Together they make a beautiful flower..."

The driver put a hand on Emily's buffer and looked into her eyes. "You're also a beautiful flower," he said affectionately.

Emily was confused. "Me?"

"Yes. We men usually compare women to flowers. And since you're a female engine, you're a flower too."

"Oh… I like that!"

The driver smiled at her. "Always be kind and compassionate to everyone, Emily, and you'll be the most beautiful flower in the garden of your friends."

Emily was happy. The thought of being a flower in the garden of her friends reached deep in her heart.

And she whished to have many friends to offer them the petals of her kindness and the perfume of her compassion.

* * *

Back in the present, Emily gave a deep sigh, remembering that distant beautiful day. _"I wish someone wanted to be my friend,"_ she thought. _"So far no one greeted me... This way I'll never be a flower in their garden."_

Soon, the sad emerald realized that she still had not spoken to the coaches she was pulling. So she decided to introduce herself in the hope of becoming a friend to them. "Excuse-me," she said, "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself yet. I'm Emily; Sir Topham Hatt's new engine. And you two are..."

"I'm Annie."

"And I'm Clarabel."

"Wow! Female coaches! Pleased to meet you Annie and Clarabel."

"Pleased to meet you too, Emily," said Annie.

"Tell me, are you two comfortable? Or should I go slower?"

"It's fine like this," replied Clarabel.

"It's nice to go on this ride with you," added Annie.

"Oh... Thanks!"

Emily noticed that Annie and Clarabel's voices showed no emotion. The two coaches seemed to be responding to her simply out of politeness, just because they could not get rid of her. The atmosphere was tense. Then, very disappointed, Emily decided to continue the ride in silence.

Emily had not seen Annie and Clarabel that morning in Knapford because they were behind Thomas, and Emily had been the first one to leave the station. If Emily had seen them, she would have known that they were Thomas' coaches and she would not be now enduring the consequences of having taken them without his permission.

And speaking of Thomas; he was still angry.

Thomas was at Maithwaite Station receiving an order from his controller. "I want you to go to the Docks to pick up new coaches," said Sir Topham Hatt.

"New coaches? But, sir-"

"Really useful engines don't argue!"

Thomas knew he could not argue. He clenched his teeth and left the station even angrier than before. _"Damn!"_ he thought. _"Sir Topham Hatt took my coaches away and gave them to Emily! That girl brought me bad luck! And I was so happy to meet her!"_

Thomas did not want new coaches; he wanted Annie and Clarabel back.

As Thomas puffed toward the docks, Emily had completed her ride and was back at Knapford Yards. As she reversed to leave Annie and Clarabel in their shed, Emily heard a voice.

"Those are Thomas' coaches!"

It was Oliver, who was at the next door track. Emily looked at him and immediately realized the mistake she had made. "So that's why he looked cross!" she exclaimed. "I'll go and apologise." And Emily came out of the yard at full steam.

Oliver stayed open-mouthed. "That voice...," he said, "it's... it's a feminine voice... I can't believe... It's a female steam engine! Oh, dear... and I was rude to her... I didn't even introduce myself and I already scolded her! What a shame..." Oliver was very embarrassed by his behavior and promised to apologise to the newcomer.

Meanwhile, Emily was puffing down the line in search of Thomas. _"I must find him. I must clear things up with him!"_ But she came to a junction and had to stop at the red signal. Then she heard an engine approaching. _"Could it be Thomas? I hope so."_

The engine in question stopped at her side. Emily saw him and could not contain her emotion. "Thomas!" she exclaimed. But then she blushed. "Oh... you're not Thomas... I-I'm sorry... It's just that... you looked like him at first glance... I'm Emily, by the way."

The engine did not respond. He just looked at Emily in surprise, and then, he slid his gaze over her funnel; her boiler; her wheels...

Emily thought she recognised this engine. Apparently it was the same one she had seen coming out of a tunnel during her ride. "Umm... sorry for interrupt you," said Emily. "But, could you tell me your name?"

The engine's eyes met Emily's again. "Oh… sorry," he said. "I... I'm Edward. Pleased to meet you… Emily."

Emily smiled in relief. For a moment she had thought the engine was mute. "Pleased to meet you too, Edward. I hope we can be friends."

Edward smiled sweetly. He could not believe that, indeed, the new engine was a lady. "Of course we can be friends," he replied kindly. "I'm sorry I didn't greet you this morning. You're the first female steam engine I see and I was so impressed that I got speechless. I even thought you're not real and that I was just having a vision..."

"A vision?! Hee! Hee! That's funny!"

"I'm… very sorry."

Emily looked at Edward with affection. "It's all alright, Edward," she replied. "Thank you for accepting to be my friend. I'm sorry I mistook you with Thomas. I'm looking for him in order to apologise for having taken his coaches without his permission. He was angry with me for that reason."

"Oh... Thomas is very jealous of his coaches. He doesn't want anyone to take them. But don't you worry, he'll not be angry with you for long."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. I know my child very well."

Emily raised her eyebrows. "Your child? You mean Thomas is your… son?"

"Erm... well... yes and no. I mean... I love him like a son. Nothing else."

"Wow... that's wonderful..." Emily was delighted with Edward. An engine that feels fatherly love is undoubtedly someone friendly and protective. In fact, Edward's sweet look and the gentle tone of his voice already revealed what was in his heart. "I wonder if you would accept me as your daughter," said Emily without thinking twice.

Edward swallowed. _"My daughter?"_ he thought. What he was feeling for Emily was not precisely fatherly love. It was another thing. Maybe brotherly love or something like that. Edward still did not understand what was happening in his heart at that moment. But he was sure of something: it was not fatherly love. "Actually...," he responded, "I want you to be my... my sister... If you don't mind…"

"Okay." Emily smiled. "I love that. Consider me as your sister."

Edward smiled at her, trying to dissimulate his nervousness in front of his 'sister'. He was afraid Emily would ask why his face had turned red. But fortunately, Emily's signal changed to green.

"I'd like to keep talking with you, Edward," said the beautiful emerald, "but I must find Thomas. See you."

"See you, Emily."

Edward watched while Emily left and he sighed deeply. _"My goodness...,"_ he thought, _"our dream came true... She's the gift we asked to Heaven! And she's so sweet... and beautiful... How could Thomas get angry with her? I think I'll have to talk with my child about his obsession for his coaches."_

Far from there, Thomas puffed throught Edward's branch line, pulling the coaches he had picked up at the Docks. "Don't want new coaches! Don't want new coaches!" he complained. "Now my journeys will be boring, for these coaches are inanimate! That Emily really brought me bad luck!" Thomas kept complaining until he got to Wellsworth Yards. There he left the coaches, took a heavy goods train and went out again.

Meanwhile, Emily continued her search throught the main line. She did not stop thinking about Edward. " _He's so kind... and so handsome... I've never seen some eyes that radiate as much sweetness as his..."_ Emily sighed happily. _"I finally have a friend in Sodor!"_

Soon, Emily stopped at another junction. Then she saw two big engines approaching.

The engines were Gordon and Henry. Gordon still believed that Henry was only hallucinating the night before because of his sneezing.

"I told you, Henry. That mysterious engine doesn't exist."

"I'm sick of repeating that he was real."

"But we've been looking for him all morning and-"

"Gordon..."

"-we didn't see a single giant wheel-"

"Gordon!"

"What!"

"Look... over there at the junction... It seems to be him... Yes! It's him! I told you he was real! Let's go see him."

Gordon gulped.

As soon as they reached the junction, the mysterious engine was the first one to speak.

"Henry!" exclaimed Emily on recognising the green engine. "It's good to see you! I've been worried about you. Are you okay? I heard you sneeze a lot last night and... Oh... I forgot to introduce myself again... I'm Emily."

Gordon and Henry stared at each other open-mouthed. Only now they noticed that the mysterious engine was a lady, and a strange sensation seized their hearts. After a few seconds, they looked back at Emily.

"H-hello, Emily," said Henry. "I-I'm fine, thanks… But… h-how do you know my n-name?"

"Sir Topham Hatt told me about you."

"Oh... well... thanks for caring about me. I went to the Steamworks and they cleaned my boiler. Now I feel very good."

"I'm glad to hear that, Henry." Then Emily looked at Gordon. "And who are you?"

"I'm... Gordon, the... f-fastest train on Sodor."

"Hello, Gordon," said Emily smiling. "I see you're a great express engine. No doubt you're the fastest on Sodor."

The Nº 4 engine felt very proud and his lips curved into a big smile. But Emily's next words made him shiver...

"You know, I'm an express engine too."

Gordon swallowed hard. "Really?"

"Yes. Well... I was it before I became a living engine. Now I only take goods trucks and some local trains. But I wish I could take an express train again, at least once." Emily had an idea and her face brightened. "You can count on my help, Gordon!" she said enthusiastically. "I could take your Express in case you need it."

"Thanks, but I don't need anyone's help. I'm the fastest and best. And I never break down."

"Oh... o-okay."

Henry frowned. "Gordon! Don't be rude to the lady!"

"Rude? Don't exaggerate, Henry, I just said the truth. And now I must go." Gordon pumped his pistons. "Bye, Emily."

"Bye, Gordon ..."

And Gordon puffed away, not without having glanced quickly at Emily's wheels. _"She has only a couple of driving wheels,"_ he thought. _"It's no threat to me."_ Actually Gordon wanted to stay there longer admiring Emily's beauty, but he did not want her or Henry to hear his heartbeats that had become uncontrollable.

Henry sighed. "I'm sorry about Gordon," he said. "He's not that friendly, but he's not that bad either when you know him well."

"I see," said Emily sadly.

"Hey... don't feel sad," soothed Henry. "I do want to be your friend... I'll be delighted to count on your help, and you can count on mine."

Emily smiled. "Oh, thank you, Henry! You're very kind." At that moment, the signal changed to green. "By the way, have you seen Thomas?" Emily asked as she pumped her pistons. "I need to talk with him."

"I'm sorry to say I've not seen him. But I suggest you to stay on the main line, so probably other engines will be able to tell you if they saw him on some branch line. He usually takes a goods train at this hour."

"Okay. I'll stay on the main line. Thanks again, Henry."

"You're welcome, Emily."

Emily said good-bye to Henry and went away puffing happily. _"I've now two friends!"_ she thought. _"Edward and Henry are very kind!"_

Later, a signalman flagged Emily down. "What's the matter?" asked Emily's driver. "Oliver hasn't cleared his signal box," responded the signalman. "Please go and see what's wrong."

"Excuse-me, sir," Emily said to the signalman, "could you tell me what Oliver looks like? I'm new and still don't know everyone..."

"Of course. He's a green tank engine with the number 11 on his side. His handrail crosses over his smoke box."

The description sounded familiar to Emily. Soon she recalled the engine she had seen at Knapford Yards as she took Annie and Clarabel back to their shed. "I already know who he is!" she exclaimed. "I'll look for him."

And Emily puffed as fast as she could. Like every time someone was in danger, her maternal protective instinct made her fly. After a while, she saw a green engine stuck at the intersection. _"This has to be Oliver,"_ she thought as she stopped. Then, Emily heard a high-pitched whistle. She looked over to where the sound came from and got scared on seeing Thomas coming at full speed with a goods train. "Oh, dear!" she exclaimed.

Thomas could see Oliver and he knew he could never stop in time. His trucks were too heavy and they pushed him.

"HEEELP!" cried Oliver.

Emily knew that if she didn't do something there would be a serious accident. So she charged towards Oliver.

Thomas saw Emily trying to push Oliver. "Cinders and ashes!" he screamed. "She'll not be able to push him along with the trucks that are in front of him!" Then he blew his whistle, although he knew it would not solve anything.

Soon Emily managed to move Oliver a little, but now she was the one in danger of being run over.

Thomas panicked. His vision blurred and all he saw in front of him was a large emerald-green spot. He reproached himself for having got so angry with Emily, and now perhaps he would no longer have the opportunity to apologise to her. "I'll never forgive myself! I'll never forgive myself!" And Thomas closed his eyes. "Goodbye, Emily..."

The world stopped for Thomas at that moment, and panic made him lose consciousness.

Fortunately, Emily had managed to push Oliver out of the intersection just in time. She trembled as Thomas' heavy train passed behind her with a deafening noise. A few seconds later, silence reigned. "Thanks!" said Oliver afterwards. But Emily was very frightened and did not listen. "We did it...," she whispered to herself.

As there was no answer, Oliver spoke again. "Excuse-me… Who are you?"

"I… I'm Emily."

Oliver recognised that voice and he felt his firebox blazed. "Thanks for saving me, Emily! You're a very brave engine! I'm Oliver, by the way."

"You're welcome... Oliver."

"Sorry for having been rude to you this morning. I hope we'll be friends."

"It's all… alright."

"Umm... are you okay, Emily?"

"Yes... I just need... to catch my breath... I got frightened a little."

"Oh... I understand. Breathe deeply."

While some workers were examining Oliver, Emily remained in place in case it was necessary to take him to the Steamworks. Fortunately, the problem was not serious and the workers could fix it up right there. Then Emily said goodbye to her new friend and puffed away. _"Now I've to look for Thomas again,"_ she sighed.


	4. Mermaid of the Railway

**A/N:** Here's the second part of *Emily's New Coaches*. Finally, a certain red engine will make his triumphal entrance into Emily's field of vision and vice versa. As we know, there was a James' cameo near the end of the episode. That was all I needed to imagine their first meeting. :)

Guest 4: I love your comments. You always emphasize the most important facts of the chapters and I really appreciate that.

* * *

 **CHAPTER IV**

 **MERMAID OF THE RAILWAY**

* * *

 _"You hypnotized me with your singing... I even thought you were a mermaid..."_ -James

* * *

A few miles from the intersection, Thomas regained consciousness. He felt that his face was splashed with fresh water, while something soft slid over his skin. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed that he was on a siding. His driver was standing on his running plate with a towel in his hand. "What... happened?" Thomas whispered.

"You fainted, boy," replied the driver as he gently slid the towel over Thomas' cheek. "So I brought you up to here and Duck took your train."

"Oh..." Thomas took a few seconds to remember what had happened before he fainted. Then he opened his eyes widely. "Oh, dear! What about the accident?! How's Emily?! Have I wrecked her tender or something worse?!"

"Calm down... There was no accident. Emily got out of your way just in time."

"Wow!" exclaimed Thomas excitedly. "She's incredible! Let's go! I've to see her!"

"Are you sure you're all right already?"

"Absolutely!"

"Okay. But let me finish drying your face."

As soon as the driver finished drying Thomas' face, he climbed into the cab and pulled him out of the siding to go on search of Emily. On the way, Thomas found Oliver. "Are you okay, Oliver?" he asked.

"Yes, Thomas; thanks to the wonderful Emily. I didn't know there was a female steam engine here."

"She arrived yesterday, and I agree with you that she's wonderful. Where is she now?"

"I really don't know. But I can help you look for her as soon as I leave my trucks at Wellsworth Yards. What do you think?"

"Great!"

Actually, Thomas and Oliver did not need to look for Emily. Sir Topham Hatt had already been notified about the incident at the intersection, and he ordered to call all the stations and signal boxes to stop Emily in case of seeing her.

Emily was near Cronk Station when a signalman stopped her. "Sir Topham Hatt wants you to go to Wellsworth Yards," said the signalman. _"Oh, no,"_ thought Emily disappointed. _"It appears that I'll never find Thomas."_

But as soon as she reached the yard, Emily's heart jumped with joy on seeing that Thomas was there. Thomas smiled at her from buffer to buffer. Oliver and Sir Topham Hatt were also there.

"Emily," said Sir Topham Hatt with a smile, "I've known what you did to save Oliver and Thomas from a serious collision. Well done, you're a very brave engine."

"The bravest!" Oliver clarified.

"It gives me great pleasure," continued Sir Topham Hatt, "to present you two new coaches."

Emily could hardly believe what she heard. She looked at her pretty coaches and thanked excitedly to her controller. "Thank you, sir!"

"You're welcome," replied Sir Topham Hatt. "You know, Emily, last night I was surprised to hear that you were worried about Henry's health, and today you bravely risked yourself to save an engine in trouble. I see you've a great sensitivity and a spirit of service, and those qualities make you a really useful engine. I'm very proud of you."

Emily blushed. "Thank you, sir."

"Hurray for Emily!" acclaimed Oliver and Thomas, and the two blew their whistles making Emily blush even more.

As soon as Sir Topham Hatt left, Emily spoke to Thomas. "I'm sorry I took Annie and Clarabel," she apologised. "I didn't know they were your coaches."

"Forget it, Emily," responded Thomas. "I'm sorry I was so cross."

"So… friends?"

"Friends."

Thomas and Emily smiled at each other. Emily wanted to tell Thomas that she was happy that they were finally friends, but at that moment something on the main line distracted her and she stayed silent.

"Hey, why don't you get coupled up to your coaches?" suggested Thomas. "Let's see how they look with you." Emily did not respond. She was still looking to the main line. "Emily?"

"Uh? Oh… sorry… I got distracted. What are you saying, Thomas?"

"I said that you to couple up to your coaches so we can see how they look with you."

"Good idea!" Emily moved onto the other track and approached her coaches. These were emerald-green like her and glowed under the sun's rays. "Well, what do you say?" asked Emily as she coupled up to them.

"They look pretty with you," said Oliver.

"It looks like they were made especially for you," added Thomas.

"Thanks!"

"Well, my friends," said Oliver afterwards, "I'm sorry to have to leave now, but I must to be at Arlesburgh before dark. So I'll see you tomorrow. And thanks again, Emily!"

"You're welcome, Oliver! See you."

As the Nº 11 engine left, Thomas and Emily stayed alone in the yard.

Thomas noticed that at last he could talk with Emily at ease. "Wait for me there, Emily," he said, "I'm going to turn around." Then he moved onto Emily's track and slowly advanced until he stopped very close to her. He saw that Emily had an innocent look, and he felt terrible for having thougt that she brought him bad luck. "I want to ask you for forgiveness again for my behaviour," he whispered. "I was very silly. You can't imagine how terrible I feel about that."

"That's in the past, Thomas," Emily reassured him with her soft voice. "Don't feel bad. I've already forgotten it. The important thing is that we're now friends and I'm happy about that."

Thomas smiled. "Well, if you already forgot it, I must forget it too," he said. "I'm also happy that we're friends and that there was no accident at the intersection. When I saw you trying to push Oliver, I thought you wouldn't manage to get out of my way... I thought I would crash into you and I panicked... Then I closed my eyes and the next thing I remember is that I woke up on a siding."

"Oh, dear... You mean you fainted?"

"Yes, I fainted because of the fright. If I had hurt you… I wouldn't have been able to endure it."

Emily was touched by the small engine's words. "Thanks for caring about me, Thomas," she said. "Fortunately nothing bad happened. I wouldn't have been able to endure it either if something bad had happened to you."

Thomas saw on Emily's face a tenderness he had not seen in any other engine. It was a tenderness that reminded him the mothers when they look at their children, and he thought maybe Emily, being a female machine, had a mother's heart. He looked into her eyes and whispered her name caringly.

"Emily…"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for... being a lady."

"Aww... you're welcome, Thomas," replied Emily softly. "I'm glad to hear that... You know, when no one greeted me this morning, I thought they didn't accept me precisely for being a lady."

"No! It wasn't for that! It was just because... they saw you with my coaches, nothing else. Actually, my friends and I wanted to see a female steam engine for a long time." Thomas approached Emily until almost closing the distance between them and gave her a pleading look. "Please, Emily... never think again that you're not accepted... You're a gift from Heaven to us... You're our dream come true... the flower of our garden..."

Emily felt a lump in her throat and closed her eyes. She could not believe what Thomas had said. A tear began to roll down her cheek.

"What's the matter, Emily?" asked Thomas worried.

Sweet Emily opened her eyes and swallowed hard to respond. "Thomas," she said with breathy voice, "your words make me very happy... I dreamed of being... a flower in the garden of my friends..."

"Oh…" Thomas smiled. "Then... I oficially inform you that you're the flower of our garden."

Emily chuckled, and this time she could not contain her tears. Then, as if was from impulse, Thomas moved forward up to touch her bronze buffers.

Emily closed her eyes again, shedding silent tears of emotion as Thomas' small buffers pressed hers. Thomas' pressure was soft and warm, like the caress of a child to his mother. Emily thought Thomas was a soft-hearted engine, because no other engine had ever shown her so much affection in that way. Emily forgot all her sadness at that moment.

Thomas watched Emily's tears and was pleased to make her happy. But at the same time, he felt terrible again for having believed that she brought him bad luck. So he promised himself that he would be a good friend to her from now on.

A few minutes later, Emily stopped crying and opened her eyes. "This is the best welcome I had ever wanted," she said, looking affectionately at Thomas. "Thanks for being so sweet and cute."

"Oh... your're welcome." Thomas blushed. It was the first time he had received praise from a lady and he felt a little nervous. "Now... I wonder if the flower wouldn't be already tired of riding all day."

"Hee! Hee! I'm already a little tired, indeed. But I would like to go to the wash-down before returning to Knapford. I'm covered in dust."

"OK. I'll accompany you to the wash-down."

"You're a whole gentleman."

Thomas blushed again. Then he reversed to make way for Emily and they both left the yard. This time, on the way, everyone greeted Emily with whistles and smiles, and they congratulated her on her impressive feat at the intersection. Emily felt happy and Thomas was very proud of her.

"By the way, Thomas," said Emily at one point, "about what distracted me when we were at Wellsworth Yards; it was an engine that was leaving the station with a passenger train. He was red and had the number 5 on his tender. Who was it?"

"It was James. He was taking a local train."

"James?" Emily's face brightened. "Is that his name?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I like that name. That was the name of the first person I met when I was born."

"Oh... I get it. But, why did that engine get your attention?"

"Because of his colour. Red is my favourite colour along with green. It's the colour of love and the most beautiful roses... I would like to meet James."

"Well, I suppose you won't lose anything if you don't meet him. In fact, you'll most likely regret meeting him. He's not precisely love on wheels, nor anything that resembles a rose. He's Sodor's most troublesome engine, to say the least. He's vain, selfish, bossy and grumpy. He believes he's the last drop of water on the desert just because of his red paintwork. Can you believe it? Oh... and he's fearful too. He invents ghost stories to frighten others, but then he himself gets afraid more than anyone and starts crying like a baby. What do you think?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Emily burst into laughter. "Oh, Thomas! You're so funny! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"But I'm just telling the truth…"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! He can't be that bad!"

"Of course he can. In fact, he is."

"HA! HA! HA!" Emily laughed even more. And her laughter was so contagious that Thomas could not help but laugh too.

After a few minutes of pure laughter, they met Percy at a junction. Percy had already learned that the new engine was a lady and he was ashamed that he had not greeted her in the morning.

"Emily," said Thomas, "meet Percy, my best friend." Then Thomas looked at Percy. "Percy, she's Emily; the flower of our garden."

"H-hello, Emily," said the small engine.

"Hello, Percy," replied Emily sweetly.

"Erm… forgive me for having got cross with you this morning."

"Forget it, Percy. With that cute baby face you don't need to ask for forgiveness."

"Oh…" Percy blushed and smiled shyly. "You… you also have a… cute face, Emily."

"Aww… You're a little angel."

Percy blushed even more and looked down. Thomas chuckled. "It looks like we'll have to get used to her compliments, Percy," he said. "We've no other way out."

The three engines laughed, and then they went on the way to the wash-down. Once there, Percy said goodbye to his friends and left.

"Let me take your coaches to Knapford, Emily," said Thomas. "I'll leave them in your shed."

"Thank you, Thomas." Emily got umcoupled from her coaches and moved onto the other track. As soon as Thomas was ready to leave, he said goodbye to her.

"Well, see you tomorrow, Emily. Have a good rest tonight."

"Same to you, Thomas. See you."

Thomas pumped his pistons. But before leaving, he remembered something. "Oh... Emily," he said, "this is James' favourite place."

"Wow! If you see him, could you tell him that I'm eager to meet him?"

"Sure. But remember what I told you. You'll regret."

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Okay!"

Thomas left Emily at the wash-down and took her coaches to Knapford. Then he went to Tidmouth Sheds. There he found Henry, Gordon, and Percy talking to James about Emily.

"She's more elegant and splendid than you," said Gordon.

"If she's not red; she's not elegant nor splendid," James defended himself.

"Maybe she's not red," clarified Henry, "but she's a million times more pleasant than you."

"Henry is right," added Percy. "Besides, she's very, very beautiful."

"Accept it, James," said Thomas as he backed into his shed. "She's elegant, splendid, pleasant and beautiful."

James rolled his eyes. "As long as I don't see her, I'll not believe it."

"Then go and see her now. She's eager to meet you."

A wave of pride swept over James' boiler. "Is she eager... to meet me?"

"That's what she said. But I warned her that she'll regret."

"HEY!"

Everyone laughed.

"Easy, James. I just told her that you're vain, selfish, bossy, grumpy and fearful."

"THOMAS!"

Everyone laughed again. James was very angry. "If she wants to meet me," said James, "it's because she already learned that I'm the best engine on Sodor. So I understand the envy from you all. You can continue laughing." Everyone obeyed with pleasure. James was even angrier. "Stop it! Where is she, Thomas? I can't keep a lady waiting."

"She's at the wash-down."

"Wow… The best place in the world! Here I go, Emily!" James pumped his pistons and climbed quickly to the turntable, ignoring the laughter of his friends. Then he went away fast as a lightning.

As soon as the 'lightning' disappeared, Edward arrived at Tidmouth Sheds. He steamed onto the turntable, but instead of going up to his shed, he stood on the turntable and looked at Thomas. "Could you come here a moment?" he asked. Thomas came out of his shed and approached him. "Yes, Edward?"

"Do you know why James was going so fast?"

"He went to meet up with Emily. She wanted to meet him."

"Wow... I don't blame him then. And speaking of Emily," Edward smiled, "what do you think about her?"

"Oh... She's the loveliest engine I've ever seen. I'm very happy that Heaven has sent her to us. She's the answer to our prayer."

"Exactly. The answer to our prayer. But, do you think that having got angry with her for no reason was the best way to thank Heaven?"

Thomas sighed. "Of course not... But I already apologized to Emily. We are now friends."

"Thomas... I think you should control your obsession with Annie and Clarabel's safety. They're lovely coaches; no one will want to hurt them. Besides, Sir Topham Hatt knows what he does. If he decided that Emily had to take them for her first ride, it's because he already knew they would be fine with her. I understand that you love your coaches, but you shouldn't allow that love to make you make mistakes like today. Poor Emily was looking for you to apologize for taking them without your permission. She shouldn't have bothered about that."

"I know, Edward... I was a fool... I worried too much about Annie and Clarabel and I thought Sir Topham Hatt had taken them away from me... You're right; I shouldn't allow my love for them to make me make more mistakes. I ruined Emily's first ride because of that. I must learn to think before acting."

"Well said. I hope you remember that."

"I'll remember. I promise."

"Okay. Let's go to our sheds."

"Wait…"

"Yes?"

Thomas smiled. "What do you think about Emily?"

"Well, she left me literally mute," whispered Edward. "In addition to being beautiful, she's a very sweet girl."

"But it's a pity that she has bad taste, isn't it?"

"Bad taste?"

"She likes James."

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Edward gave Thomas a friendly little push and they both laughed heartily. Then they went into their sheds and began to talk with the others engines about their impressions with regard to Emily. Everyone, except for Gordon, admitted that Emily made them "stagger a little."

Meanwhile, James was puffing towards the wash-down full steam ahead. He was also eager to meet Emily. When he learned what she did at the intersection, he thought she was a very strong engine in addition to being brave. But as for what his friends had said about her attributes, he wanted to see them for himself.

"An engine that isn't red can't be so elegant," he said as he was caressed by the evening breeze, "and there can be nothing more splendid on Sodor than my newly polished paintwork. Besides, I make a pretty contrast with the green of the vegetation. It's as if we form a rose! And as for being..." James stopped talking and looked from side to side. _"What's that?"_ he thought.

It was only a mile to get to the wash-down when James heard a sound like the one of a feminine voice humming a song. The sound was pleasant and filled the atmosphere so much that it seemed to come out of the breeze itself. James wanted to know where the sound came from, so he slowed down a little and tried to concentrate on it. He soon noticed that it was indeed a feminine voice. _"Who has that beautiful voice? It doesn't seem to be Alicia Botti..."_ As he advanced, the voice grew clearer and James recognized the melody. It was the one of a famous Christmas song. _"I wonder why she's humming 'Silent Night' at this time of the year..."_ Then, in the distance, James saw the source of the sound. It was definitely not Alicia Botti. It was an emerald-green engine that seemed to be camouflaged among the vegetation. _"Oh, dear... it's... it's Emily!"_

As he arrived at the wash-down, James slowed even more and advanced at a snail's pace until he stopped a few feet away from Emily. Then he could appreciate her in all her glory.

Emily had her eyes closed and a slight smile on her lips, and hummed the song as the workers dried her machine. Undoubtedly, she was enjoying her own music. And she was so focused on it that she did not notice that an engine had arrived.

James was speechless. He was seeing the most beatiful engine in the world precisely at 'the best place in the world'... Everything his friends had said about Emily's attributes was nothing at this moment. _"How can she be so beautiful? That face... looks like the one of a doll... yes... she's a perfect doll... And her smoke-box... looks like a woman's long hair... And those... curves... My goodness..."_

Suddenly, as James admired her beauty, Emily stopped humming and began to sing.

 _Silent night, holy night!_

 _All is calm, all is bright_

James held his breath. Emily's voice was as soft as cotton and as sweet as a lullaby. He thought there could not be a lovelier engine.

 _Round yon Virgin Mother and Child_

 _Holy Infant so tender and mild_

The heat inside James's boiler was increasing. Then James realized he was not breathing... So he quickly took a huge breath of air.

Salty used to say that the mermaids' singing can hypnotize navigators. Perhaps Emily was a sort of mermaid of the railway, for James was literally hypnotized…

 _Sleep in heavenly peace_

 _Sleep in heavenly peace_

The workers were also enjoying the singing of this mermaid. They looked at each other from time to time with a smile and a gesture of approval, and they slowly slipped the cloths over Emily to prevent her from being desconcentrated.

 _Silent night, holy night!_

 _Shepherds quake at the sight_

To embellishing even more the spectacle that Emily was offering, the sky began to dye with the warm colours of the sunset. Immediately, James recalled that he had already lived something similar several years before. The sunset; the song of the breeze; the red and the green together... and an exquisite flowers' fragrance... _"What does this mean?"_ thought James. _"Am I dreaming?"_

 _Glories stream from heaven afar_

 _Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!_

At this point, James felt the desire to join his voice to Emily's. He was attracted by her singing, and he wanted to sing along with her. So, his lips separated to let his voice pass through...

 _Christ, the Saviour is born_

 _Christ, the Saviour is born_

Emily was surprised to hear the 'second voice'. She thought it was one of the workers, so she just smiled and kept singing with her eyes closed.

 _Silent night, holy night_

 _Son of God, love's pure light_

Now Emily felt that the voice could not be one of the workers. It was too powerful to be a human voice. It had to be the one of an engine. But it was not the voice of any of the engines she had met that day. Even so, she preferred to finish the song before finding out who was singing with her.

 _Radiant beams from Thy holy face_

 _With the dawn of redeeming grace_

James and Emily's voices made a perfect duet. The workers were so delighted that they looked at James with their thumbs up.

 _Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth_

 _Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth_

The workers applauded. Emily finally opened her eyes and thanked the applause with her pretty smile. Then she looked up at James...

Emily's smile faded into an expression of astonishment as she recognized the engine who was watching her from the other way. This was the Nº 5 red engine that had distracted her a few hours earlier. This was James. Emily noticed that he was taller than her, although not longer than her, and he had prominent cheekbones and big eyes like Thomas. But unlike the eyes of Thomas that showed the playful child that there was inside him, James' eyes seemed to keep secrets.

The seconds passed and the two engines did not speak. They just looked at each other's eyes. Then Emily smiled and took the initiative to speak. "Hello, James," she greeted. "I'm Emily."

James came out of his trance and smiled as well. "H-hello, Emily," he replied. "Erm... I'm glad you came to our island... I... I want to be your friend."

Emily saw that James' smile was the most charming she had ever known. Although she acknowledged that he was not as handsome as Edward, she could tell with certainty that his smile made him quite attractive. "Thank you, James," responded Emily. "I want to be your friend too. I liked how you sang with me. We make a good duet."

James blushed. "Actually... you hypnotized me with your singing... I even thought you were a mermaid... B-but a kindly mermaid! N-not one that... betrays those who she hypnotizes... Worth clarifying... You're kindly."

Emily chuckled. "I'm glad you've made it clear," she said, "because in fact I would never betray you... You're lovely, James."

James swallowed and blushed even more.

At that moment, the workers finished drying Emily and she was ready to leave. "Would you accompany me to Knapford, James?" she asked. "That way we can talk."

"Of course, Emily. I just have to turn around."

James went to a turntable and then came back to accompany Emily. Then they went side by side to Knapford, followed by the cool breeze and the fragrance of the flowers.

"Why did you sing a Christmas song, Emily?" asked James.

"Oh... I love 'Silent Night'," replied Emily. "I discovered that it gives me inner peace, so I usually sing it to relax in the evenings. It also helps me calm down when... I'm angry."

"What makes you angry?"

"Well, when I suffer delays and can't do a task right, I get very angry."

"Wow..." James smiled. "I would like to see you angry. I bet you look equally beautiful."

"Hee! Hee!" Emily blushed. Although she was accustomed to being called 'beautiful', for some reason her heartbeats accelerated on hearing that word from James' lips.

"And speaking of beauty," continued James, "would you like to see the sunset from Knapford Harbour?"

"Oh! I would love to!" exclaimed Emily. "For me, the sunsets over the sea are the most wonderful. It gives the impression that the sun submerges into the water to spend the night."

"Wow... I never thought the sun submerges into the water..."

They went on their way talking and laughing. Emily noticed that James was friendly and funny, and she thought that Thomas was only joking about his 'attributes' and about 'regretting having met him'.

As soon as they reached Knapford Harbour, they were both delighted by the reddish sunset.

"This is... incredible..." whispered Emily.

"It's just spectacular..." added James.

Unlike when they were at the wash-down, now it was James who was camouflaged among the colors of the surroundings while Emily made a nice contrast with them.

James remembered again that incredible sunset he had lived the day he returned from the Steamworks after his nasty accident. He wondered if the song of the breeze he heard that time was not really the voice of Emily who had traveled several miles along with the wind up to reach him. Who could deny that possibility? Who could deny that Emily was that glimmer of hope that Heaven was sending him?

James watched Emily in silence. Emily had her eyes fixed on the sky, as if she was praying, and you could see the sun reflected in her 'long hair'. James had never seen anything so beautiful. He kept looking at his friend, and did not realize that she was looking at him as well...

"James?" whispered Emily.

"Huh?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Oh… nothing… I… I was just wondering... where that flowers' fragrance might come from... It has been following us from the wash-down."

Emily smiled. "It's me."

"You?"

"Yes. The workers used a floral scented soap. They said they wanted to give me special treatment for being a lady."

"Oh..." James blushed. "What a fool I am... I should've known it."

Emily looked at him with affection. "It's all right."

They both smiled at each other. Then they continued to watch the sunset until the sun disappeared under the sea.

"Well," said James, "you were right, Emily. The sun submerged into the water to spend the night."

"Exactly," replied Emily. "The red sun wants to sleep. Maybe some kindly mermaid will sing it a lullaby, don't you think?"

James' jaw dropped. Only then Emily realized what she had said. "Erm...," said Emily nervously, "I-I think we should go... It's already night." Now James slowly curved his lips into a smile and winked at her, and Emily felt her cheeks burn. She had never felt like this in front of another engine.

They pumped their pistons and set off for Knapford Station. As they reached the junction, they stopped and looked at each other.

"Well, I must go to my shed," said Emily. "Thank you for your company, James. I had a pleasant time with you."

"You're welcome, Emily," replied James. "I also had a pleasant time with you. See you tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

James was about to leave, but Emily's voice stopped him.

"James…"

"Yes?"

Emily looked tenderly into James' eyes for a few seconds, and then she delivered four words that had already come out of her lips several times during the day, but now they tasted sweeter. "Pleased to meet you."

James smiled at her. "Pleased to meet you too, Emily... Sweet dreams."

James left, and Emily stared at him with a smile until she lost sight of him. Then Emily went to the yard and backed into her shed. She let off a little of steam and closed her eyes. _"Oh... I feel so happy,"_ she thought as she relaxed. _"I already have many friends... wonderful friends... I love them all..."_

And Emily fell asleep, remembering with affection every one of the engines she met that day.

For his part, James arrived at Tidmouth Sheds and greeted his friends. They smiled on seeing him so happy.

"It seems like you had a nice meeting with Emily," said Henry.

"You're right," replied James as he backed into his shed, "it was a perfect meeting. We talked a lot and watched the sunset at Knapford Harbour. Oh! And we also sang! Emily is just wonderful," James looked at Thomas, "and she did not regret having met me."

"I'm glad to hear that," said Thomas. "But I hope she'll continue without regret."

James smiled and rolled his eyes. "Don't you worry, Thomas. By the way... shouldn't we thank Lady for Emily's arrival?"

"OF COURSE!" everyone responded.

"Since you had the privilege of having spend a perfect time with her," Edward said to James, "what do you think if you make the pray?"

"Good idea, Edward," replied James, "I will." Then he looked up at the sky and began his prayer with the heart full of joy.

"Oh, Angel of the Engines… I want to thank you on behalf of my friends for having heard our prayer… We wanted to see a female steam engine for a long time, and what you sent us is better than we had imagined… Emily is sweet, polite, brave and extremely beautiful… Thanks for this heavenly gift… We're very honoured by her presence, and we promise we'll all be good friends to her. Amen."

"AMEN!"

The engines were happy. They kept talking about Emily for a while until the sleepiness won them. Then they said goodnight to each other and closed their eyes.

James had a smile on his lips. And he fell asleep remembering the fragrance and the singing of the kindly mermaid of the railway.

From her cloud of golden dust, Lady stared affectionately at the Steam Team. "I'm glad that you're all happy with the gift, my beloved ones," she said with a smile, "you all deserved it." And she returned to Heaven.


	5. Henry's Guardian Angel

**A/N:** This chapter is the last on making reference to Season 7. The next one will show Emily's 'another side' and her struggles.

Guest 4 and the other Guest: thanks for saying that this story is affectionate and sweet. I love writing about the characters' nice side and showing that not all is arrogance and teasing between them. :)

Go Princess Moonstar: thanks for reading this story. It's also hard for me to imagine James singing with Emily, but after seeing them singing together at the end of TGR I got the courage to write that scene. :)

* * *

 **CHAPTER V**

 **HENRY'S GUARDIAN ANGEL**

* * *

 _"That's what friends are for, Henry... We must take care of each other."_ -Emily

* * *

The view was wonderful. It was not a sunset over the sea or a field dressed in flowers, but it was equally wonderful for her.

They were the Tidmouth Sheds, the home of the Steam Team.

It was night, and it had been a short time since Emily arrived on the Island. She wanted to know the sheds where her best friends slept, so that night she waited for James at Knapford Station and asked him to take her to the place. And now she was there, near the turntable, watching the immense building with a smile. James was at her side.

"What's your shed?" asked Emily. But there was no answer. "Hey... wake up, James."

"Wha...? Oh... sorry. What did you say?"

"I wanted to know what your shed is, so I can push you up to there. You're almost asleep."

"Oh..." James chuckled. "Actually there is not a specific shed for each one. We usually use the first one we find available."

"I get it. And what a night here is like?"

"Well, that depends on the circumstances. Sometimes we're all in a good mood and we talk and laugh until we fall asleep. But other times we're angry and we start to argue, although at the end we make peace again and sleep quietly."

Emily smiled. "That shows that the friendship between you all is powerful. Discussions are a sign of trust and strengthen bonds of union."

James was confused. "I don't understand... How can discussions be a sign of trust?"

"Think about it, generally when we're before a stranger we try to show our sweeter side with the intention of winning his or her friendship. But once we get it; we begin to show our teeth without fear or embarrassment, because we already know that this friend will not leave us or be angry with us for a long time. That's called trust."

Now James was surprised. He thought Emily was right. "Wow... So a discussion can strengthen friendship..."

"Yes, it can." Emily looked at the sheds and sighed. "I'd like to spend one night here with you all," she said. "Although in reality I'd like to live here with you all... between laughter, discussions, reconciliations..."

Those words touched James. He noticed that Emily was serious, and he wished he could make one more place appear in the building for her. In fact, he also wanted Emily to live there.

"I don't say that Annie and Clarabel are not good company to me in Knapford," continued Emily, "but they're coaches... They've other interests... So, despite talking whit them, I still feel alone and-" Emily saw that James was about to sleep again, so she cleared her throat. "AHEM!"

"OW! Erm... did you say something like Annie and Clarabel are interesting when they feel alone?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh, James! Better go to your shed. You're heavy with sleep."

"You're right," said James. "I'm sorry, Emily... I'd have liked to accompany you back to Knapford, but..."

"Oh, don't worry. I already know the way. I'll go right now."

"OK. But go you first to the turntable."

Emily obeyed, though she did not know why James wanted her to turn first. The reason was that James had heard several times that issue of 'ladies first' and he thought that between engines it should be like that too.

As Emily turned, James admired her beauty. James remembered how his friends had laughed at him when he said that a female steam engine should have 'many curves just like women'. No one could laugh now. Emily had gorgeous curves, and James liked them...

Emily noticed that James was watching her, so as soon as she finished turning, she looked into his eyes and smiled. "Do you like my paintwork?" she asked innocently.

"Huh? Oh… yes. It makes a pretty contrast with mine."

Emily chuckled. "I agree with you. Goodnight, James."

"Goodnight, Emily."

Emily moved from the turntable so that James could enter his shed.

Emily was about to leave the Tidmouth Sheds, but at that moment she saw Henry parked near the turntable. Henry looked sad, so Emily approached him.

"Henry…"

"Hello, Emily."

"What's going on?"

Henry sighed. "I think I'm ill again... I felt weak all day long."

"Why don't you go to your shed to rest?"

"I can't... I must take the Flying Kipper now."

Emily raised her eyebrows. "Take a train?! No, Henry. Not under these circumstances."

"But it's my job and I must do it. Sir Topham Hatt counts on me."

"But you're sick… You'll be stuck in the middle of the night and you'll have to wait until dawn for help."

"Emily... I appreciate you care about me, but I must tell you something. Sir Topham Hatt already spent a lot of money on my maintenance and I can't afford to disappoint him. I'll be able to take my train; it's just that I'll do it slowly. Don't worry."

Emily could see that Henry was a very honoured engine and she felt pity for him. She wanted to volunteer to take the Flying Kipper instead, but she did not know the itinerary of that train.

At that moment Thomas arrived. "What's the matter with you, Henry?" he asked on seeing his friend sad.

"My boiler is grumbling…"

Thomas thought Henry was joking, so he wanted to have fun. "Maybe it's grumbling at you."

"That's not funny!" exclaimed Henry. "You just don't care!"

Before Thomas could say anything, Henry puffed away. Then Emily saw that Henry was leaving a puddle of water behind. She was now very worried about him. "Could you take the Flying Kipper, Thomas?" she asked.

Thomas was surprised to hear Emily's voice. He had not realized she was there. "Emily? What are you doing here?"

"I came to know the sheds."

"Oh, well. It's not necessary that I take the Flying Kipper. That's Henry's job."

"I know. But he's sick. Look at the puddle of water he left behind."

Thomas smiled. "Easy, Emily, maybe they just forgot to close the lid of his tank. Henry always says he's sick. I bet he's just lazy tonight."

"No, Thomas... He doesn't feel well at all. I'll go see him." Emily pumped her pistons. "Oh… please take care of James, okay?" she said before leaving. "The poor thing stayed asleep on the turntable."

"O-okay," responded Thomas. He was moved by how Emily was so compassionate and attentive.

Emily left the Tidmouth Sheds full steam ahead, and as soon as she reached Henry, she offered him her help. "I'll take the Flying Kipper with you, Henry," she said. "I'll be your banker engine."

Henry raised his eyebrows. "Would you really do that for me, Emily?"

"Of course. Why not?"

"Well... you should go to sleep."

"I wouldn't sleep peacefully knowing that you're suffering there outside. Let me help you, so I'll learn the route of your train and I'll be able to take it for you when you need it."

"Oh..." Henry smiled and looked caringly at Emily. He could not resist such a sweet offer. "Thank you, Emily," he said. "I really need a little help."

Emily smiled back. "Well, I'm here for you."

And Emily helped Henry take his train.

The two friends talked a lot on the way. Henry told Emily about his accident with the Flying Kipper and how he was sent to Crewe to be repaired. He also talked about his constant health problems. Emily listened to the stories with amazement and realized that Henry was an engine that had already suffered enough. This made Emily feel even more respect and compassion for him.

The compassion that Emily felt for those who suffer was a virtue of her. She had shown it even from the day she was born, when she took her first ride...

* * *

After having seen the garden flowers at the square, Emily continued her ride. A few minutes later she got to a playground where many children played and she stopped to watch them. One group of children especially took her attention for the way in which they played with a ball, so Emily asked her driver to explain what they were doing.

"They are playing football," said the driver, "the most popular sport in the world. Two teams of eleven players each compete with each other trying to score a goal by moving the ball towards the rival goal area and putting it between two goalposts. It seems easy, but actually the players have to have ability to do it, because they can't use their hands, only their feet and head. Besides, each of the teams has a goalkeeper who tries to stop the ball."

"Wow... That's a really awesome sport."

Emily watched the game with enthusiasm. She even celebrated the goals with her whistle. But at one point, an incident made her enthusiasm flew out of her funnel. One child had tripped and fell to the ground, banging one of his knees against a stone. The child lay on the ground crying and clutching his aching knee with both hands.

"Oh, no!" screamed Emily. "That kid is hurt! He needs help!"

"Calm down," said the driver, "his mother is already going to see him."

In fact, a woman ran to where the child was. She caressed the child's aching knee and this stopped crying immediately. Then, the woman kissed the child's knee, which causing him smile. The child got up, hugged the woman and then he continued to play as if nothing had happened.

Emily watched the scene open-mouthed. "I don't understand..." she said afterwards. "How did the kid recover so fast?"

The driver smiled. "A mother can do such a miracle, Emily," he said. "Motherly love is the most sublime of loves and an effective balm against pain and sadness."

"Oh... What a wonderful thing..."

Emily was touched. The sweet scene of the woman comforting her little one was engraved in her heart. And she wondered if she could do the same with her friends. She also wanted to be a balm against pain and sadness...

* * *

Back in the present, the Flying Kipper's journey was going smoothly and all deliveries were made on time. After that, Henry and Emily returned to Knapford, and as they reached the station, they said good night at each other. Then Emily entered her shed and Henry went on his way to Tidmouth. Henry was very grateful for having counted on Emily's help.

At dawn, Sir Topham Hatt arrived at Tidmouth Sheds. "Thomas, Henry and Percy," he said, "I want you to collect some trucks from the Coaling Plant and take them to the Docks."

"Yes, sir!" responded Thomas and Percy and they puffed away.

Henry was feeling weak yet, but he did not say anything to Sir Topham Hatt. He knew that really useful engines do not complain. So he pumped his pistons and, with great effort, he came out of his shed.

As Henry slowly chuffed towards the Coaling Plant, Emily came along.

"Good morning, Henry," said Emily.

"It's not that good, Emily... I'm still feeling ill."

"I see. You keep leaving water everywhere. Are you going to the Steamworks?"

"No... I must take some coal trucks to the Docks with Thomas and Percy."

"Do you mean you didn't tell anything to Sir Topham Hatt about your condition?"

"Well... no. I had no courage."

"Oh, Henry... You can't go on like this. I'll speak to him right now. One maintenance done on time costs less money than a repair."

Emily moved quickly away. Henry could not refute her wise words.

Emily found Sir Topham Hatt at the Docks. "I'm worried about Henry, sir," she said. "Last night I helped him to take the Flying Kipper for he felt ill, and now he's still weak. He's leaving a puddle of water behind."

"Oh, dear...," replied Sir Topham Hatt. He got surprised that Henry did not say anything about feeling ill. "His tubes must be leaking... Thanks for advicing me, Emily. You better check how Henry is now."

"Yes, sir."

And Emily returned to the main line to look for Henry. She found him near Wellsworth Station with a long line of trucks.

"Henry... you look exhausted," said Emily. "Are you alright?"

"No... I'm stuck... I give up."

"Why have you taken so many trucks? I saw Thomas and Percy on the way and each of them was taking just two."

"They thought I'm just being lazy and played a trick on me... They told the Yard Manager that I wanted to take more trucks for I'm bigger and he believed them."

Emily raised her eyebrows. "How can they have fun by teasing someone who's sick?" she said. "That's a very bad thing! Come on, Henry; get uncoupled from your train. I'll take you to the Docks next to Sir Topham Hatt."

"But we can't leave the trucks here..."

"Oh, forget the trucks. Thomas and Percy would do well to come and take them."

Henry smiled. "Thank you, Emily. You're an angel to me."

"That's what friends are for, Henry," replied Emily sweetly. "We must take care of each other."

Henry was uncoupled from the heavy coal train and Emily hooked up to him to take him to the Docks.

Meanwhile, Thomas and Percy had already arrived at the Docks and had to explain to Sir Topham Hatt why they left most of the trucks to Henry. Both were very ashamed about their behaviour and Sir Topham Hatt was cross with them.

Soon, Emily and Henry arrived and stopped between Thomas and Percy.

"Well done, Emily," said Sir Topham Hatt. Then he spoke to Henry. "You were brave, Henry. Despite being ill, you still tried to pull the heavy trucks. That was an admirable act. But the next time; don't hesitate to tell me if you don't feel well, okay?"

"Y-yes, sir."

Thomas and Percy wanted to apologize.

"Sorry, Henry," said Thomas.

"We didn't think you were really sick," added Percy.

"It's alright, my friends," responded Henry.

"Well. Thomas and Percy," said Sir Topham Hatt sternly, "you two have caused confusion and delay with your sick joke! Go back and collect Henry's trucks right away!"

"Yes, sir," whispered Thomas and puffed away along with Percy.

Then Sir Topham Hatt asked Emily to take Henry to the Steamworks to be repaired. Emily was happy to be able to help her friend. She pumped her pistons, but when she was about to leave, a whistle took her attention. So she looked towards the left and saw James on a nearby track. James smiled and charmingly winked at her, making her blush. Emily chuckled and returned him the wink. Then, she left the Docks taking her precious cargo.

After having left Henry at the Steamworks, Emily worked hard the rest of the day. In addition to doing her own jobs, she also did Henry's ones. So when evening fell, she was already so tired and sleepy that she just wanted to get home and rest. But when she finally arrived at Knapford Yard and turned around on the turntable to go to her shed, she fell asleep halfway.

A few minutes later, one engine approached Emily. The engine closed the distance between them, and pressed Emily's buffers with exquisite delicacy. Then, the engine slowly began to push her towards her shed. Emily woke up and gasped, opening her eyes widely. "Don't be afraid...," soothed the engine, "I'm just taking you to your shed... You're heavy with sleep..."

Emily smiled with relief. "James...," she whispered tenderly.

"Relax…," responded James smiling, "you're very tired… for you're a hard-working girl… You need rest."

James' sweet words made Emily close her eyes again. Emily was really very tired. She completely relaxed, and confidently let James take care of her.

James pushed Emily up to the back of her shed. He noticed that she was sleeping deeply, so he carefuly moved from her buffers in order not to wake her up. _"Have a good rest, beautiful,"_ thought James, and then he set off for Tidmouth.

The next day, Henry returned from the Steamworks and meet up with Emily at Wellsworth Station.

"You're looking so much better, Henry," said Emily.

"Well, they mended my tubes," responded Henry, "but they didn't even look at my brakes, my gauges, my squeaky wheels..."

Emily laughed. "All in good time, Henry!"

Poor Henry.

* * *

Emily loved the Island of Sodor and being part of Sir Topham Hatt's railway. She worked on the main line by taking freight trucks, and also had her own passenger train. She felt happy to be 'the flower of her friends' garden' and work with them. She used to go to the Tidmouth Sheds in the evenings to spend some time with them before returning to her shed at Knapford Yard.

As time went by, Emily got to know the engines of the island very well and noticed that not all of them were as kind as they seemed. All of them had virtues; but they also had defects. Some of them more defects than virtues, like the twins Bill and Ben, for example. She found that Thomas could be as adorable as cheeky and that sometimes Henry seemed to get worried for anything. She did not like the way that Gordon thought he was superior to others, nor the rude treatment that Diesel gave to steam engines. She also did not like the troublesome trucks' bad behaviour. All this made Emily feel a little disappointed at times, although she would not change her life in Sodor for anything in the world.

But what disappointed Emily the most was found that the description that Thomas had given her about a certain red engine was not as exaggeratedly false as she thought...

One evening, while Emily was at Tidmouth Sheds, James arrived very happy to have got a new coat. He looked beautiful, but his way of showing off was unbearable. He thought that looking splendid made him special to Sir Topham Hatt. Thomas told him that looking splendid is not the same as being really useful, but James responded that best of all is being really useful and looking splendid like him. Everyone looked at James angrily. But the worst happened the next day when Sir Topham Hatt asked him and Percy to take coal trucks to the Docks. Instead of going straight to the Coaling Plant, James took a ride around the island 'enjoying being James' and wanting everyone to admire his brilliant paintwork while Percy did all the work. When he finally decided to go to the Coaling Plant it was already late, and the Yard Manager told him that he would have to take more trucks to make up for lost time. James gladly accepted the work, but the troublesome trucks were being very naughty and they left James covered in coal dust. Emily met him on the way to the Docks and felt pity for him, but she thought he deserved it for being so vain and having abandoned poor Percy.

Emily could not believe that James disobeyed Sir Topham Hatt because of his new paintwork.

Despite her disappointment, Emily did not regret having met James; but the idyllic image she had of him changed drastically. James no longer looked like the red rose whose petals she wanted to embrace with her emerald-green calyx, nor the lovely evening sun that sang in a perfect duet with the kindly mermaid when they first saw one another. James seemed to be just what Thomas said: Sodor's most troublesome engine...

Now Emily already knew the virtues and defects of her friends.

And she already trusted them enough to be neither afraid nor ashamed to be herself.

Now, Emily was ready to show... her own teeth.


	6. Fight and Love in The Snow

**A/N:** Dear readers, I see that the last sentence of the previous chapter caused a misunderstanding and I would like to clarify it. When I said Emily was 'ready to show her own teeth' I just meant that she was going to show her defects, not that she would become cruel or something like that. So, sorry for the confusion. :(

Among the characters who suffered a big personality change in the dark era, I think the most harmed was Edward. Episodes like * _Edward Strikes Out_ * (aka "The Worst Episode Ever"), * _Edward and the Mail_ * and other revolting ones like those just don't exist for me, because there is no way to justify the character's mistakes in them. But as for Emily's mistakes, I think we can find some 'sensible explanations' and that's what I want to do in this fic.

Guest 4: another heartwarming comment from you. Thank you, my friend. Emily will keep her sweetness above her defects.

Guest 55: Thanks for your comment. Emily will want to take the Express at some point, indeed.

Oh, another thing I want to do is to compensate the non-existent Edward-Emily interaction in the series. So I hope you all like the little moment between the two Sodor's sweetest souls in this chapter. :)

* * *

 **CHAPTER VI**

 **FIGHT AND LOVE IN THE SNOW**

* * *

 _"That motherly love is the most sublime virtue you have... It would be a terrible mistake to get rid of it."_ -Edward

* * *

It had been a year and a half since Emily arrived in Sodor. Many things had happened on the island during that time; some good and some bad. Fortunately, most were good. But the few bad ones were enough to annoy Emily a lot.

Emily already knew that her friends had their defects. She tried to justify them thinking that everything has a sensible explanation. But when those defects hurt others, she felt very upset. For example, when no one believed that Henry was sick and Thomas and Percy played a trick on him, she just could not understand it. Even so, she decided to ignore that incident by thinking that it was something unusual and that everyone had learned the lesson.

But she was wrong; no one had learned the lesson. Just some weeks after that incident, Thomas had played another sick joke on a newcomer. This one was a tank engine named Arthur and had a spotless record. When Arthur received the order for his first job with the troublesome trucks, these began to sing. Then Thomas told Arthur that Sir Topham Hatt does not like the trucks singing, and that he should tell them to stop. Arthur believed Thomas and obeyed him, and the result was that the troublesome trucks got angry and caused an accident...

A few weeks later, Thomas and Percy had teased another engine and this time Emily had to intervene: they made fun of Salty because of the way he spoke. Emily was so cross that she went to look for them to give them a reprimand. _"It's not nice to copy the way others speak!"_ she exclaimed on finding them. _"You hurt Salty's feelings."_ The two tank engines were ashamed and apologized to Salty.

Emily had a weakness for Thomas and Percy, whom she viewed as 'the kids of the railway'. The affection she felt for them was great and she did not like when they got into trouble because of their pranks. She always tried to warn them in a friendly way, and fortunately they always acknowledged their mistakes and apologized.

But then winter came, and Emily found out that Thomas did not like using his snowplough... That was the last straw for Emily. It's totally against the rules for an engine to go out into the snow without the snowplough. So Emily thought that maybe Thomas needed someone to tell him how to behave so he would not get into trouble.

Now it was winter again, and Emily was more determined than ever to watch over Thomas and tell him what he was doing wrong.

In one of those cold mornings, Emily was in Tidmouth Sheds when Sir Topham Hatt arrived with the weather report.

"There's snow on the way," say Sir Topham Hatt, "you must all have your snowploughs fitted."

Emily got worried about Thomas, because he had left the sheds early in the morning to collect trucks from the quarry and take them to the Docks. "Excuse-me, sir," said Emily, "but Thomas has already left for the quarry."

"Then you must find Thomas and tell him Sir Topham wants him to wear his snowplough."

"Yes, sir."

So Emily puffed away to get her snowplough fitted, and then she set off to find Thomas.

Emily was eager to tell Thomas what to do. In fact, the previous day she had giving him so many orders to the point of making him cross. She wanted to make sure that Thomas was doing everything right, and she became bossy because of that.

Thomas was taking on water at Maithwaite Station when he saw Emily approaching. _"Here comes the bossy one,"_ he thought. _"I bet she'll give me more orders."_

Emily stopped near Thomas and blew her whistle, but Thomas did not say hello. So Emily went straight to the point. "Thomas!" she called. "You must go and get your snowplough fitted!" Thomas just looked away, as if he had not heard. That made Emily cross and she tooted even louder again. "You must go and get your snowplough fitted!" she repeated.

Now Thomas got angry. "Bother snowplough!" he said. "And bother Emily! Anyway the weather is perfectly fine!" And he puffed away as fast as he could, leaving Emily open-mouthed. _"What's gotten into him?"_ thought Emily. _"He's going to get stuck in the snow!"_ Emily wanted to have the pleasure of seeing that Thomas had finally obeyed an order from her, so she did not say that the order was given by Sir Topham Hatt…

Thomas delivered the trucks to the quarry, and then set off to collect the cream from the dairy. On the way he met with Edward at a junction.

"You should use your snowplough, Thomas," said Edward, "there's snow on the way according to the weather report."

"Maybe those people who give the weather report are wrong," responded Thomas, "because the sky is clear."

"But a snowstorm could be formed in a short time."

"I know. But without the additional weight of my snowplough I can go faster and finish the work in a short time. I'll return home safe and sound, Edward. Don't worry." And Thomas went on his way.

 _"Oh, Thomas,"_ thought Edward, _"as if the snowplough was a GREAT additional weight..."_

Everything was going well and Thomas thought he was being very clever. But soon the clear blue sky was eaten away by dark clouds. "They look like snow clouds to me," said the driver. Thomas saw that his driver was right. "Then we must accelerate," he responded.

But the storm also decided to accelerate, and soon big flakes of white snow began to fall. Now Thomas got worried. _"Oh, no…,"_ he thought. _"I wish I can finish my work and return to Tidmouth with no problem."_ Thomas' wish did not come true. The snow gathered into drifts and covered the tracks, making his wheels slip. "Cinder and ashes!" he cried.

Not far from there, Emily cut safely through the drifts with her snowplough. "Thomas will be in trouble now," she said. "I must find him. I bet he is regretting not having obeyed me."

Emily was right that Thomas was in trouble, but Thomas was not regretting having disobeyed her. _"I am never going to listen to Emily ever, ever again,"_ Thomas had sworn the previous day.

Snow fell without stopping all over the island. Thomas was working harder and harder, but he had to go more and more slowly. "We can't go on," said his driver. Thomas pulled to sad, slow stop by a signal box, and his driver went for help.

Soon, Thomas' fire went out and he felt very cold. The snow was accumulating more and more around him and threatened to cover him completely. _"What a disaster!"_ he thought. _"Those people who give the weather report were right."_

Some eternal minutes had passed when Thomas heard the sound of an engine. He was delighted, until he saw who his rescuer was. It was Emily.

Emily got angry on seeing Thomas about to disappear under the snow. At the moment she did not see him as a friend who needed help, but as a disobedient son who deserved a reprimand. "I told you to get your snowplough!" she said. "Now look what has happened!"

Thomas was so cross with her that he forgot the snow and the cold. "You should say sorry for bossing me about!" he responded.

"I am sorry," said Emily. "Sorry you didn't listen to me!"

Emily's answer made Thomas even angrier. Thomas wanted to reject her help, but he knew he had no choice. So he remained silent while Emily moved to his track to get him out of the snow.

"If you had obeyed me, this wouldn't have happened," said Emily as she pulled Thomas. "If I give you an order, it's precisely so that you don't get into trouble. I hope you've learned the lesson."

"Oh! Could you close your mouth and make this uncomfortable journey in silence?!"

"And could you accept that all this was your fault?!"

"I said to close your mouth!"

"You're a silly little engine!"

"And you're a big bossy boiler!"

Thomas and Emily argued all the way.

After the uncomfortable journey, they chuffed into Tidmouth Sheds. Sir Topham Hatt was there waiting for them. He did not look happy. "Emily, you must take Thomas to get his snowplough fitted at once!" he said sternly. Then he looked at his Nº 1. "Thomas, you must learn to listen! The orders I give are to be obeyed!"

"Y-yes, sir," responded Thomas, feeling very bad. He did not know it was Sir Topham Hatt who wanted him to wear his snowplough.

But Emily felt even worse than Thomas. Only now she realized that it was her own fault that Thomas got into this trouble... "I-I'm sorry, sir," said Emily ashamed, "I forgot to tell Thomas it was your idea..."

Sir Thopham Hatt raised his eyebrows. "You mean I have two engines who don't listen?!" he boomed. "Well I never. Emily, you must take Thomas to get his snowplough fitted at once!" he repeated the order.

"Yes, sir." And Emily puffed away, taking Thomas with her.

Edward had heard the conversation from his shed, and he looked sadly at Emily as she left. Edward already knew that Emily has become bossy to Thomas and he did not like that attitude of hers. For some time now he wanted to talk to her about that, but he did not find the appropriate moment to do it. But on seeing that Emily had gone too far this time, he thought he could no longer remain quiet. So he decided that he would talk to her that same day.

Emily was taking Thomas down the line, and this time the journey was completely silent. Neither of them dared to say a single word. Both of them recognized that they behaved badly and felt hurt in their pride.

Soon they arrived next to the workmen, and these fitted Thomas' snowplough.

Thomas and Emily were side by side looking at each other. They wanted to apologize, but they were still a little cross and had no courage to do it. But soon Thomas decided to speak. "Thank you for owning up," he said. "You're a very good friend."

"That's all right," responded Emily. "You're a good friend too. But next time, if you want to stay out of trouble, just do what I say."

Thomas did not like Emily's answer, but still so he could not help but laugh. "Okay!" he said afterward. "I'm already wearing my snowplough. We've to keep working."

They both left to continue their work. And during the rest of the day, they did not talk to one another again.

Thomas was somewhat resentful at Emily because she had not said that who gave the order was Sir Topham Hatt. If she had been honest, he would have obeyed without any problem. Thomas did not want that Emily was his boss; but his friend.

For her part, Emily had admitted her mistake and was sorry for having argued with Thomas. But still so she thought that Thomas was a stubborn child for not wanting to hear her order.

At nightfall, the weather was very cold and all the engines quickly went to their sheds. Emily got into her shed in Knapford. She was sleepy, but the memory of her heated argument with Thomas did not let her sleep despite the fact that they had supposedly made peace. _"I don't feel well,"_ she thought. _"My relationship with Thomas became tense these last months... I just wanted to help him keep out of trouble..."_ Emily looked up at the sky. _"If someone is listening to me up there; please give me advice... I want to fix this situation, but I don't know how to do it... I need some advice..."_

Obviously, someone was listening to her from Heaven. In fact, the help for Emily was already on the way. The Heaven was only waiting for her to acknowledge her powerlessness and ask for help. The prayer of a humble soul comes faster to Heaven.

As Emily was still looking at the sky, she heard the puff of an approaching engine.

The engine reversed into the shed beside Emily and looked at her. "I hope you don't mind if I spend the night here," said the engine. "It's very cold there outside and I'm a bit lazy to go to Tidmouth..."

Emily smiled. "I'll be honoured to have you at my side this cold night, Edward."

"O-oh… well."

Edward let off a little of steam and relaxed. Then his crew members got out of his cab and helped the workers to close the doors of the sheds. There would be another snowstorm during the night according to the weather report, so all the sheds had to have their doors closed in order to protect the engines.

Edward had been thinking of how to start his conversation with Emily. He did not want to go straight to the point and make her feel uncomfortable, but he wanted her to talk at ease and with confidence. "They say there will be another snowstorm this night," said Edward.

"Oh... I just hope we have no problem to take our passengers tomorrow," responded Emily. "There are many people coming to the island to spend Christmas with their relatives."

"You're right. In fact, Sir Topham Hatt already asked Thomas to clear the tracks tomorrow morning for us."

Emily sighed. "Poor Thomas... He'll have to do what he doesn't like; to use his snowplough..."

With that, Edward thought he could already talk to Emily about her incident with Thomas. "It seems that Thomas was a bit stubborn today, wasn't he?"

"I think so."

"I met with him on his way to the dairy and he didn't want to listen to me when I told him about the weather report. It was very silly from him."

Emily looked down. She felt suddenly ashamed in front of Edward. She remembered that she had seen him at Tidmouth Sheds when she arrived with Thomas, so it was obvious that he already knew what had happened. "It was my fault, Edward…," she said. "I didn't tell Thomas that the order was from Sir Topham Hatt... I wanted him to obey an order of mine at least for once… I admit that I became bossy to him, but it's just because I don't want him to get in trouble." Emily looked at Edward again. "It's hurt me every time that Sir Topham Hatt scolds him and punishes him... I would like him to understand that and accept my help... But it seems like I'm only making him get away from me… It seems like I became a beast that shows its teeth... What can I do, Edward? I want to be a good friend to Thomas."

Edward looked at Emily caringly. He wanted to tell her a lot of things at this point, but he knew he had to carefully choose his words so as not to hurt her feelings just now that she looked so confused. "I think I understand what you're going through, Emily, for I experience something similar. Do you remember when I said to you that I love Thomas like a son?"

"Yes."

"Well. On one hand, that's something nice and gratifying. Hearing Thomas calling me 'dad' and knowing that he trusts me makes me feel very happy. But on the other hand, this kind of love can be a struggle."

"Why a struggle?"

"You see, many times I am tempted to give him order when he acts like a fool. For example; today I wanted to forcibly take him to get his snowplough fitted. But I knew I couldn't do that, because actually I'm not his father, but his friend. So I had to let him go."

Emily raised her eyebrows. "But, Edward... you shouldn't have let him go! What does it matter if you love him like a son or not?! A friend must give orders when someone acts idiotically."

"I'm sorry to disagree with you, Emily," said Edward in a calm voice. "A father can give orders, but a friend... just must transmit orders and give advice... That's why you're making Thomas get away from you... You're not acting like a friend to him. You're acting like... Sir Topham Hatt. You said yourself that you wanted Thomas to obey an order of yours at least for once… I know you just want to help him, but the one who gives orders over here is Sir Topham Hatt. He is our father, while we are friends."

Emily felt that Edward's words hit her like bucket of cold water. She noticed that Edward was right. "Then... I was the one who was acting idiotically," she said sadly, "and I thought I was being a good friend to Thomas... But, actually I was just being a... big bossy boiler."

Edward smiled. "Don't get sad, Emily," he soothed, "I know what's happening to you… You've a maternal heart... You love others like a mother does… You became bossy to Thomas because your motherly love makes you feel responsible for his security, and then you want him to obey you at all costs to stay out of trouble… That's something noble, but the problem is that Thomas is not your son… That's why I said this kind of love can be a struggle... It's hard to keep a balance between giving advice as a friend and giving orders like a parent."

Emily was speechless. She had the feeling that she already heard the same words somewhere else. _"Maternal heart...,"_ she thought, _"love... struggle... keeping a balance…"_ Those words rolled around in her mind, and she thought there was only one way to fix things up with Thomas. "You're absolutely right, Edward," she said. "I let my heart speak louder than my mind and I became a nuisance to Thomas. Now I know what I should do... I must stop loving like a mother."

"For heaven's sake, Emily!" exclaimed Edward. "That motherly love is the most sublime virtue you have; it's what makes you so charmingly feminine... It would be a terrible mistake to get rid of it. What you should do is let Sir Tophan Hatt give the orders, nothing else."

"Oh... I... I didn't think of that..." Emily smiled. "I feel better now. I really don't want to stop loving like a mother."

Edward looked at her with deep affection. "Please don't hold back that love, Emily… If you want to see us all as your children; do it. Just remember that Sir Topham Hatt is the one who gives the orders… I'll tell you something… Some days ago Henry said to me that he feels more secure since you arrived, because you always intuit when he's sick and you try to encourage him each time he's worried… What do you think? Your motherly love makes a giant engine feel secure."

"Oh, Edward," said Emily sweetly, "that makes me feel so happy." She sighed with emotion and closed her eyes. She remembered the child who hurt one knee while playing football and healed with a single kiss from his mother. _"A mother can do such a miracle, Emily,"_ had said her driver. And now Emily had done the miracle of making a giant engine feel secure thanks to her motherly love. Undoubtedly, it would be a terrible mistake to get rid of it.

Emily opened her eyes and looked at Edward. "If only I had known how to take care of Thomas without becoming bossy…," she said. "I can't wait to speak to him and make peace with him... I want us to be friends again. I even want to give him some surprise as a token of my affection."

"Wow… He'll love that."

"But what could it be? It must be something he likes."

"Well, um... he likes kids… Christmas decorations… fireworks…"

"That's!" exclaimed Emily. "He'll enjoy seeing a big Christmas tree with many ornaments and many kids around. What do you think?"

"Great idea! He'll enjoy it indeed. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll invite the children while you and the others take care of the ornaments."

Emily felt a great fondness for Edward at this moment. She noticed now that Heaven had sent him to help her. She noticed now that Edward was not only the kindest engine on Sodor, but the wisest as well. At all times, Edward had spoken to her with gentleness and respect, making her see her mistake tactfully and providing her his fatherly guidance. Emily felt indebted to him. "You don't imagine how this conversation made me feel good, Edward," she said. "I had asked for guidance to Heaven this night, and you arrived a few minutes later. I was quite confused before your arrival, but now I see things clearly and I already know what to do. How can I thank you for your help?"

Edward smiled. "Just show me your teeth," he whispered.

"What?!... Oh... Hee! Hee! I get it." Emily showed a toothy smile.

"My goodness…" Edward sighed. "Explain to me how you can be so beautiful, Emily. It's an order from Sir Topham Hatt."

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Emily blushed deeply.

It was getting late. The two friends kept talking until finalize the details of the surprise they would give Thomas, and then they said goodnight to each other.

Emily fell asleep happily in Edward's comforting company.

* * *

The next night, Emily was at Knapford Yards waiting for Harold's arrival. She was worried, because Thomas was missing and Edward had asked Harold to find him.

During the afternoon, Thomas had discovered that his friends were preparing a surprise and he wanted to find out what it was about. But, as his friends refused to tell him, Thomas felt left out and got cross. He did not imagine that the surprise was for him. Now it was time to ask him to take the children from Wellsworth Station to Upper Brendam to see the surprise, but no one knew where he was.

Finally, Harold arrived at Knapford and approached Emily. "Good news, my friend," he said. "I found Thomas in a siding. He was cross because he thought we left him out. But I told him about the surprise and he felt very happy. Now he's already on the way taking the children."

"Thanks, Harold!" responded Emily. "I'm going to meet up with him right now."

Emily left the yard full steam ahead and set off for Upper Brendam, eager to see Thomas and talk with him. On arriving at the village, she saw the big Christmas tree that had been placed in the middle of the square. The tree was full of ornamentes and at the bottom of it there were lots of presents. The children that Thomas had taken were delighted.

Emily stopped beside Thomas, who was parked near the tree. Thomas had a big smile on his face, and his smoke-box was decorated with a golden tinsel. "Hello, Thomas," said Emily.

"Hello, Emily! Thanks for the surprise. Harold told me that this is a special thanks from you all for I've kept the lines clear of snow today."

"Yes. Thanks to your help, we've done all our jobs on time. You deserved a gift for being a really useful engine."

"I'm glad I've been useful, Emily. And I'm honoured to have you all as my friends."

Thomas and Emily looked at each other with a sweet smile.

On seeing Thomas so happy, Emily felt no courage to tell him about 'the other reason' of the surprise. She was afraid he would get cross by remembering how bossy she had been the last few days. So she wanted to wait a little longer.

In this moment, the children placed themselves in a circle around the tree and began to sing.

 _O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!_

 _Thy candles shine out brightly!_

"Wow…," whispered Thomas, "this is wonderful… Let's sing with them, Emily."

Emily agreed, and they both joined the choir. The party could not be more beautiful. At the end of the song, the children applauded and the two engines blew their whistles. The children were so happy that they started to sing another song.

Thomas looked at Emily. "This is the best surprise I've ever had," he said.

Emily smiled. "Glad to hear that." Then Emily decided it was time to say the truth. "Thomas…," she whispered.

"Yes?"

"I… I've something to tell you… You see, there was another reason for this surprise… This was an idea of mine... I wanted to give you something as a token of my affection, for you to know that you've a special place in my heart… I noticed that I wasn't a good friend lately. I was acting like Sir Topham Hatt by being so bossy and I became a nuisance to you... I thought I was helping you to stay out of trouble, but actually I was being a beast showing the teeth... I'm very sorry, Thomas... I don't want our friendship to end... Could you forgive me?"

Thomas remained silent for a while. Then he smiled. "Do you refer to being bossy as 'a beast showing the teeth'?

"Yes."

"And did you think our friendship would end because of that?"

"Well… I think so."

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh, Emily! If you knew how many times that big blue beast called Gordon showed me the teeth, you'll wonder how I dared to accept being his ally."

"Oh..." Emily chuckled. "Then, do you forgive me?"

Thomas looked deeply into Emily's eyes, smiling tenderly. "Wait a minute," he said. Then he called his driver and asked him to place some ornaments on Emily. The driver took a golden tinsel, colorful globes and a red ribbon. He placed the tinsel over Emily's smoke-box and the globes over her running-plate along with the ribbon. Thomas held his breathe on seeing how beautiful Emily looked. "Accept them as a token of my affection," said Thomas. "You also have a special place in my heart and that will never change. You don't need to ask me for forgiveness. In fact, I wasn't a good friend either lately, and I regret it. I would like us to forget everything bad that has happened between us, and may our friendship be stronger every day."

Emily felt a lump in her throat. "Thank you, Thomas," she whispered. And a tear of joy shone on her cheek as Thomas winked at her.

The two friends kept listening the children's singing. Soon Emily began to feel tired, since she had worked hard during the afternoon by taking care of the preparations for the surprise, so she already wanted to go home. "I would like to continue enjoying the party, Thomas," she said, "but I already feel tired. I must go home."

"Oh... Could you wait a little longer, Emily? Only until the children finish this song, please? I want to accompany you to Knapford. A lady shouldn't be out there alone at this hour."

"Aww, Thomas... How could I reject a proposal like this from such a sweet gentleman?"

Thomas blushed.

As the children finished the song, Thomas' driver asked them to take their presents and board the coaches. So Thomas took them to Wellsworth Station, and then he accompanied Emily to Knapford Sheds. On arriving there, Emily invited him to stay with her that night, and Thomas gladly accepted.

Emily was happy. She had fixed things up with her sweet gentleman and now she slept peacefully at his side.

But Emily still had to fight against another defect: the lack of patience.

And this time, the battle would be more painful for her.


	7. As Good as Herself

**A/N:** This chapter is based on *As Good as Gordon*. As we know, there is some confusion about what happened after Emily got stuck with the Express. James takes her up to the Docks and then he dissapears from the screen to go to take the Express. But soon we see him pushing Emily under the water tower at Knapford Yard... Well, I tried to fix that according to my logic. Even more disconcerting is the fact that the narrator says that Emily _'could see Brendam Docks up ahead'_ when actually she was at Hawin Croka Canal. But I decided to ignore this _little_ detail.

Guest 4: Thanks for the beautiful comment. I understand Emily perfectly, for I am a mother too and I know what losing patience and being bossy to the children is like. I'm happy to read 'Heavenly surprise from Emily's heart to Thomas'. Her innocent relationship with Thomas is the sweetest thing we can see on the show and I wanted to emphasize that. By the way, I didn't take long to discover that 'Guest 2' was you. :D  


Guest 50: Thank you. I wasn't so sure while writing the dialogue between Edward and Emily, since there is no interaction between them in the show. But a few days ago I found an image of a T&F's magazine where it says _'Edward always has a good advice for Emily'_ , so I thougt that part was convincing after all and I'm glad to know that you liked it.

* * *

 **CHAPTER VII**

 **AS GOOD AS HERSELF**

* * *

 _"They told me you made the rides almost in the same amount of time as me and I think you should be proud of that…"_ -Gordon

* * *

They were both absolutely silent at the wash-down.

Only the noise of the water that the workers threw over them could be heard.

As she watched the soap foam sliding down the boiler of the red engine, Emily tried to forget the embarrassment. She had to be distracted by something; and what better than that boiler that had already distracted her once? She followed the path of the foam with her gaze until it fell on the running-plate, and she seemed not to tire of doing the same thing over and over again.

It could be said that James was enjoying having Emily's attention on him, but actually he was sad for her. He wanted to help her feel well, but he did not know how to do it. Emily was really ashamed.

Emily had had a day with ups and downs. In the morning, Sir Topham Hatt chose her to take the Express instead of Gordon, who had to take the newly-elected Sodor Mayor on a tour of the island. Emily was happy and wanted to show everyone that she could be as good as Gordon. But unfortunately, impatience got the better of her…

* * *

Emily got out so fast from Knapford Station with the Express that she left the brake coach behind. She arrived on time at Kellsthorpe Station, but on the way back she had to wait at the itersection for Edward to pass and she got cross because she thought that he would make her late. Later at Maithwaite Station she did not have patience to wait for Bertie and left just a few seconds before he arrived. Then, on the way to Brendam she needed water, but James had first arrived at the water tower with his slow goods train. That made Emily even more cross and she left without filling her tank up. She was going full steam ahead, determined to finish the ride in the same amount of time as Gordon. But she bumped her carriages so much that the passengers had an uncomfortable ride. Finally, when she was about to reach Brendam Docks, she ran out of water and stopped altogether.

Emily had never been so disappointed. Her happiness to take the Express was frustrated at the last minute because of her impatience. But it was also frustrated another wish of hers that she had kept in her heart under lock and key: impressing Gordon. Ever since she first saw the big blue engine, Emily wanted to be his friend. But her relationship with Gordon was limited to a greeting each time they crossed. Gordon did not seem to be interested in her friendship. So when Sir Topham Hatt asked her to take the Express, Emily thought she finally had a chance to get his attention.

But now Emily herself wanted to stay out of Gordon's sight because of the shame.

* * *

James saw that Emily sighed sadly and he decided he should do anything to cheer her up. Then he had an idea. A bubbly idea, by the way. James sucked in air and began to free it slowly through his funnel. The result was that a huge bubble of soap formed. This made a smile appear on Emily's face and James felt that he was finally giving her some joy. As soon as the bubble was separated from his funnel, James looked up and saw his work with satisfaction. His huge bubble floated in the air for a few seconds; then, it began to descend and... burst on hitting the tip of his nose.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Good one, James!"

"I'm a genius, right?"

"I must admit so. Hee! Hee!"

"Do it yourself now."

"Oh... I don't know how to do it."

"Just let the air out slowly through your funnel."

"But... what if I can't do it?"

"Come on... Try it... It's fun."

"Okay. Here I go."

Emily did as James pointed out and formed an even larger bubble than the one he had made.

"Wow! That's called talent, Emily!"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Let's make lots of bubbles!"

So they did. And soon a lot of giant bubbles floated over them, making them laugh out loud.

James looked affectionately at Emily. Now she looked happy. She no longer looked ashamed as when he helped her in the morning after she got stuck with the Express...

* * *

James was getting ready to take another slow goods train at Knapford Yard when Sir Topham Hatt arrived. "Leave that and take me to Brendam, James," said Sir Topham Hatt. "Looks like Emily broke down. They have just told me she got stuck."

"Oh... I think she just ran out of water, sir," replied James. "She didn't wait to stock up when she saw that I came first to the water tower."

"What?! That takes the biscuit! Let's go right away!"

"Y-yes, sir." James felt pity for Emily. He had hoped that she would give Gordon a lesson, but he knew that now their controller would take the Express away from her.

As they found Emily, Sir Topham Hatt scolded her immediately. "You should've waited!" he said. "And now you've caused confusion and delay! You left the brake coach; stranded Bertie's passengers and bumped your carriages. You must learn to be more patient!"

Emily would have wanted to become invisible at the time. "I'm sorry, sir," she said sadly, and then James pulled her to the docks. Emily wanted to redeem herself and promised Sir Topham Hatt that she would have patience next time, so Sir Topham Hatt allowed her to take James' slow goods train instead.

James took Emily to Knapford along with the Express. All the way, Emily did not say a single word. She even had her eyes closed, because she did not want to see anyone under those circumstances, much less Gordon. Besides, she was ashamed that James was a witness to her misfortune. As soon as they got to the station, Emily was disengaged from the coaches, and James took her to the yard to stock up on water. Then she took the slow goods train, and this time she did her job properly.

* * *

The bubbles game was over, and now the workers were drying up the two engines.

"You're not ashamed in front of me anymore, are you?" asked James.

Emily smiled sheepishly. "Well... no."

"Glad to hear that." James looked deeply into her eyes, and he whispered something that came straight from his heart. "You're beautiful..."

Emily blushed. "Thank you."

"Why thank you? I really mean it."

"I really mean thank you."

They both laughed.

Emily enjoyed moments like this with James. Although she had been disappointed to learn that he was Sodor's most troublesome engine, she sensed that James hid his virtues in the bottom of his heart. And one day she would discover that she was not mistaken. One day she would know how complementary she and James were, and what a beautiful flower they would form together.

Soon, Emily's joy was interrupted by a powerful whistle she did not want to hear at all. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "Why did it have to be him? He'll make fun of me!"

"Calm down, Emily... Gordon has no authority to say anything against you. He already made even more disgraceful mistakes."

"Even so I don't want to see him. I'll keep my eyes closed until he passes." Emily closed her eyes and waited. But unfortunately, Gordon stopped. And very close to her...

"Is she sleeping?" whispered Gordon.

"Yes," replied James. "Why?"

"I wanted to ask her how she feels after having taken the Express."

James got cross. "Why do you want to tease her, Gordon? She did her best!"

"And who is teasing her, you silly? She already took express trains before becoming a living engine and was eager to take another one again. That's why I wanted to know how she feels. I heard she made some mistakes during the rides today, but I bet it was just because of the nervousness. I know what nervousness is like."

James was surprised by Gordon's words. And Emily was even more; so much that she could no longer keep on pretending to be asleep. So Emily opened her eyes.

"Oh... sorry," said Gordon. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I was just pretending to be asleep, Gordon," responded Emily. "I'm very ashamed about my mistakes and didn't want to see you like this. That's how I feel now."

Gordon felt pity for Emily. Although he had been jealous of her for having been chosen to take the Express, now he was secretly impressed by her strength and speed and he did not want her to feel bad. "You don't have to be ashamed, Emily," he soothed. "I'm sorry for I've said a lot of things to discourage you before you leaving Tidmouth Sheds this morning... They told me you made the rides almost in the same amount of time as me and I think you should be proud of that… You just needed patience to avoid your mistakes. I'm sure the next time you'll do it right."

Emily could not believe that Gordon was speaking sincerely. The blue engine's gaze was compassionate and his voice sounded nice. "Thank you, Gordon," said Emily, smiling at him tenderly. Then she thought it was her opportunity to ask him some question that she wanted to ask since she first saw him. "Could we be friends?"

"Why do you ask that? We're already friends."

"But... I thought you didn't like me."

Gordon gave Emily a sweet smile. He could not help but feel affection for her just like his friends. Emily had a natural talent for awakening tenderness in everyone's heart. "Of course I like you, Emily," said Gordon. "We all like you."

"Aww... Then I can already feel happy."

"That's better. And I can already go home happily. See you tomorrow, my friend."

Emily chuckled. "See you, my big friend."

And Gordon left. He would have liked to talk with Emily a little more, but he did not want to show so much weakness in front of her, much less in front of James.

Emily sighed. "Wow...," she said. "He really isn't that bad when we know him well."

"You're right," responded James. He was as surprised as Emily about Gordon's attitude. But there was something else that intrigued him. "Emily... is it true that you're an express engine?"

"Yes, I am. I took fast trains along with my brothers before being a living engine."

"And how do you remember that?"

"For I've seen that in my dreams, as if it was a movie."

"Oh... That's very interesting... Then, I suppose you didn't know your father when you were born."

"No. But I was welcomed by his brother, a kindly man named... James."

James' eyes sparkled with joy. "Do you mean the first name you heard was mine?"

"Yes. Do you want me to call you 'sir' now?"

They both laughed again.

Soon the workers finished drying them, and then they left the wash-down. They said goodnight to each other at Knapford Junction and James went on his way to Tidmouth Sheds.

Emily entered the yard and was going to her shed with a smile on her face. She felt that she could finally forget the shame after having spent a nice moment with James and having talked with Gordon. But soon she saw something that made her smile fade while shame seized her soul once again.

She saw Edward.

Emily still had something pending before she could feel fully happy and sleep calm that night: apologizing to Edward for having been rude to him in the morning while pulling the Express. _"Hurry up, slowcoach; or you will make me late!"_ she had screamed at him at the intersection. The next time that they crossed in the same place, Emily had already learned her lesson and waited patiently for him to pass. She even gave him a smile. But even so, Emily felt that she should formally ask him for forgiveness. So she took courage and slowly approached him. "Edward…," she called.

The kind engine looked at her sweetly. "Hello, Emily. Do you want me to move onto the other track? I suppose you're going to your shed now."

"No. Actually... I came to tell you something... I... I'm really cross with myself because of my impatience, for it made me make disgraceful mistakes this morning, and... I want you to know that I'm very sorry for having screamed at you... That was by far the worse thing I've done today, to say the least. Could you forgive me?"

Edward smiled, and his answer made Emily's heart break. "No."

"N-no?" Emily was about to cry. She did not expect that answer.

"Emily...," said Edward, still smiling, "to be able to forgive; we must feel offended... and I don't feel offended at all... Why whould I forgive you then?"

Emily's heart came back to life. That answer was even less expected. "Oh, Edward...," said Emily softly, "how can you be so gentle like this? I was very rude to you... I even saw you getting sad when I screamed at you... And now you say that you don't feel offended?" Emily closed her eyes and tears rolled down her cheeks. Edward's sweetness had touched her.

Edward slowly approached her up to touch her buffers with his. "Don't cry, Emily...," he whispered. "I admit that I felt sad, but I didn't get angry with you... I know you just wanted to show how good you are… and I know you're struggling to obtain the virtue of patience... I'm not angry with you... You don't need to ask for forgiveness."

Emily opened her eyes and her gaze met Edward's. "Thanks for your understanding," she said, "it really makes me feel better after having been so silly… I should've known I'm not as good as Gordon, and so my impatience would have not won the battle."

Edwatd looked at her compassionately. "We're all different, Emily," he soothed. "No one is better nor worse than another... You shouldn't compare yourself to others... You just need to be as good as yourself."

Emily finally smiled. "I've never known an angel as good as you, Edward," she said. "You make me feel important and you always help me with your advice."

"It's a pleasure to help you," responded Edward. "Well, you must go to rest now. Those charming wheels deserve to relax."

"O-oh…" Emily blushed deeply.

Emily slept happily that night. Although impatience made her make mistakes and even being rude; her friends showed that they did not hold any grudges towards her. James gave her a tender, amusing moment at the wash-down; Gordon confirmed her that they were already friends, and Edward comforted her once again with his sweetness and wisdom.

Emily would still have another battle against impatience. But, just like today, she would learn from her mistakes.

And her friends would show her that they loved her just as she was.


	8. Sweet Maternal Embrace

**A/N** : This is the chapter I was most looking forward to writing, for it's the heart of all this fic. What Emily does here is the same thing that Caitlin did in the Chapter V of *A Kiss at Midnight* (although it stayed as a lost detail into Connor's story), but here the reason for this 'strange power' is explained. I hope you enjoy it.

Guest 4: Thanks for the beautiful review. You're right that Emily and Gordon's relationship didn't seem so simple at the beginning. But it's good to see that Gordon was respectful to her in the last seasons. Just remember Gordon's sweet gaze as he spoke with her in *Emily Saves the World*. That was priceless.

Guest 105: Thanks for reviewing. I must make it clear that Edward did forgive Emily. He explained to her that he didn't even feel offended.

jriddle41: Thanks for comment. Although there's no romance in this fic, it has hints to suit the tastes of the majority.

Happy Earth Day! :)

* * *

 **CHAPTER VIII**

 **SWEET MATERNAL EMBRACE**

* * *

 _"When I said that you're a gift from Heaven to us… I didn't lie."_ -Thomas

* * *

"I've got to find out what's happening... It could be something serious; otherwise she wouldn't be making so much scandal."

"Then we should go a bit faster, Thomas."

"Clarabel is right. You must speed up."

"No, I must be careful. There is debris everywhere, besides we're already close."

Thomas was puffing through his branch line from Toryreck towards Dryaw Station. He had just heard Emily's whistle blowing harder than ever and he was worried about her. During the night, a storm sweeped across the island causing a lot of damage and letting debris and fallen trees on the tracks, so Thomas thought Emily could have been crashed into something and derailed. In fact, Thomas had already encountered some obstacles in front of farmer McColl's farm, where the storm had blown off the roof of the cow barn.

A little further ahead, Thomas could see Emily and he breathed in relief on seeing that she was not derailed. Emily was only parked while waiting for her track to be cleared, since a water tower had fallen on it. But Emily was arguing with the one who should clear the track; Elizabeth the lorry. Elizabeth was refusing to move despite Emily's complaints, and Thomas supposed that that was the reason why Emily had made a 'scandal' with her whistle. _"Oh, no,"_ thought Thomas, _"Emily is being bossy... and precisely to Elizabeth... I've to do something to stop her."_

But Thomas knew he should be kind on telling Emily what she was doing wrong. Actually, he had the obligation to be kind to her. It was an order. An order from... Edward.

Edward was the engine who knew Emily the best so far; thanks to the conversations in private he had had with her. After her incident with the Express a few days ago, Emily had stayed somewhat sensitive, so Edward had a conversation with Thomas about it. _"We must be understanding with her,"_ said Edward. _"She's struggling against impatience and you know that that's not so easy. If sometimes she acts in a bossy way it's only because she wants to do her job well and help others not to get into trouble, since she has the same goal as all of us; being a really useful engine. Anyone who wants to judge her should remember that she has as many virtues and defects as everybody. Besides, she's a gift from Heaven; the answer to our prayer. The least we can do to thank for this blessing is to be kind to her."_ This speech could be regarded as a friendly advice if it were not for the fact that Edward was frowning as he spoke. Thomas knew that this gesture had only one meaning: Edward was giving him an order from father to son.

And this was the time when Thomas had to obey the fatherly order. So he approached Emily with his best smile and greeted her cheerfully. "Hello!" But Emily just complained about Elizabeth. "She doesn't do what I say!" she cried. "I've got an urgent delivery and she'll make me late!"

Thomas did not want to say this, but it was necessary. So he kept smiling and spoke in a kind way. "That's because you're being a... big bossy boiler again. You should try asking nicely."

Those words had such an impact on Emily that she immediately became sad. She did not want to be a bossy boiler again; she just wanted to make her urgent delivery on time. But she realized that Thomas was right. Then Emily took a deep breathe and looked at Elizabeth. "I'm sorry I was rude...," she said sadly, "but could you help me get to farmer McColl's farm, please? I'm bringing the timber to fix the roof of the cow barn... If I arrive late, the baby calves are going to feel cold tonight..."

Now Elizabeth smiled widely. "Why certainly!" she puffed. "I'll get your track cleared in no time!"

"Oh… Thank you, Elizabeth!"

Emily's track was soon cleared and she pumped her pistons to keep on her way. She looked down as she was about to pass beside Thomas, for she was embarrassed. But Thomas understood her. "Don't be ashamed, Emily," he whispered tenderly, "we all love you." That made Emily feel better, and she gave Thomas a sweet smile.

Rain clouds covered the sky and it was getting late, so Emily puffed as fast as she could. _"Poor baby calves...,"_ she thought. _"If I had not been bossy, I would already be at farmer McColl's now."_ When she finally reached her destination, she apologized to farmer McColl. "I'm sorry I've got late, sir," she said, "but I had some incidents..."

"No problem, Emily," replied McColl, "I know there is debris on the tracks. Besides, you arrived just on time. The roof of the cow barn will be repaired for bedtime."

The timber was quickly unloaded from the flatbeds and the workers began to work. Emily stayed watching the baby calves while the barn was being repaired. The baby calves were snuggled against their mothers' belly, who were lying down on the ground to protect them from cold. _"Being a mother is so beautiful...,"_ thought Emily. _"It's very sweet to see when they pamper their children..."_ Emily remembered the times she had seen a mother carring her baby. " _I suppose that hugging a baby and singing to put him or her to sleep is the best sensation in the world... I would like to know what it feels like..."_

A soft, perfumed breeze blew at this moment, and Emily could clearly hear a whisper. _"Tonight,"_ said the whisper, _"you'll know what it feels like."_

Emily gasped and looked from side to side trying to find out where the voice came from, but she did not see anyone. Then she looked up at the sky, and there she could see a cloud of golden dust vanishing between the other ones. _"Oh, my goodness,"_ she thought, _"what was that? Was it you, Lady?"_

Soon the roof of the cow barn was repaired, and the cows and their baby calves entered it. Now they could snuggle down on soft, warm hay. Farmer McColl thanked Emily once more, and Emily set off for Knapford.

On the way, Emily was thinking of the whisper she heard. It was a voice she thought she had already heard before, as if it was in a dream. But what intrigued her most was the golden dust she saw in the clouds. They had told her that the Angel of the Engines used to make itself visible that way, but few had the privilege of seeing it. Emily thought that perhaps the whisper was actually the voice of that angel, but she would not be sure of that until it was fulfilled what the voice had prophesied.

As Emily arrived at Knapford, she left her flatbeds in the yard and went to her shed. A few minutes later, the rain began to fall and the temperature dropped. _"Luckily I was able to get to McColl Farm on time,"_ Emily thought with satisfaction. _"Now the animals will sleep protected in the cow barn."_ But the satisfaction she felt soon gave way to an unpleasant feeling of defeat as she remembered that she had almost been late to the farm because of her impatience and bossiness. Emily got angry with herself. "Will I ever learn from my mistakes?!" she exclaimed. "I'm sick of being embarrassed because of them!" Emily backed up to the back of the shed and started crying disconsolately. And her weeping mixed with the sound of the rain that fell now with greater intensity.

Emily cried for a long moment, remembering her seemingly useless struggle against impatience. When her crying finally ceased, she tried to relax to sleep. But she was so angry that she could not do it. She urgently needed to vent to someone. Then she felt something pressing her buffers. Immediately, Emily opened her eyes.

The one who had touched her was Thomas.

Thomas saw Emily's swollen eyelids and felt a pain in his heart. He smiled sadly and spoke softly. "We're in the springtime..." he said, "but it seems that the flower of our garden is sad... Can I help?"

Emily felt she could finally get the anger out. "I'm not a flower!" she exclaimed. "I'm just a useless engine that doesn't learn from her mistakes! I'm... rubbish! And don't tell me it's not true!" And she cried again, even harder than before. But now her tears did not fall into the void, but there was someone there to calm them.

Thomas moved even closer to Emily, pressing her buffers completely. And he did not say a single word even though he wanted to scream that she was wrong. He knew that Emily had the right to feel bad and to exploit to get her pain out.

As Emily stopped crying, she opened her eyes and sadly looked at Thomas. "I'm sorry..." she said with a trembling voice, "I shouldn't have screamed at you... I've nothing against you... it's just that I'm angry with me... Please don't go, Thomas... I don't want to be alone... Besides, it's raining a lot... Please don't go..."

"Easy..." whispered Thomas, "I'm not going to leave you alone in this situation."

Emily smiled slightly. "Thank you... You're a great friend."

Thomas gave her a compassionate look. "If you want to talk about what's bothering you, I'm all ears."

"No…" Emily looked down, "I want to forget all about today… I want to forget the rubbish I am."

"Okay, I understand." Thomas thought for a few seconds what he should say. He wanted Emily to know that she was not 'rubbish', but he knew that a wrong word could hurt her even more. Then, it came to his mind to begin at the beginning. "Emily, would you let me tell you about the time I made Edward lose his patience because of my bad behaviour?" he asked.

"Wow…" Emily was surprised. She could not imagine Edward losing his patience. "That's something I would like to know."

"Well. It was one night at Tidmouth Sheds, a few months before you arrived in Sodor. I was teasing Gordon and laughing so much that no one could sleep. Edward told me a lot of times to stop laughing but I didn't obey him, so he got angry. Then he thought perhaps listening to a story would make me quiet." Thomas smiled. "He looked at me frowning and said _'Do you want to hear a story or a scolding?'_ "

Emily chuckled. "You really made him lose his patience. And did his idea work?"

"Oh, you don't imagine how well it worked. He told us the story of the Angel of the Engines."

"You mean Lady and little Nigel's story?"

"Yes. Do you know it?"

"My designer's brother told me about it. It's an amazing story."

"You're right. After listening to it, I wondered why the engineers never designed a female steam engine. Then Henry suggested me to ask Lady to send us one in the case they already exist."

Emily raised her eyebrowns. "And did you ask her?"

Thomas looked deeply into Emily's eyes and swallowed hard. He was about to cry on remembering the prayer he made. "Yes, Emily…" he whispered. "When I said that you're a gift from Heaven to us, I didn't lie. You're the answer to our prayer… You're here because Heaven decided to send you to our garden... and Heaven never sends rubbish, it just sends blessing... So you're not rubbish, Emily... you're a blessing… Remember it every time you're sad or angry... You're a gift from Heaven."

Those words elevated Emily's mood and she felt a great happiness in her heart. "Oh, Thomas...," said Emily with her eyes full of tears of joy, "I didn't know I was the answer to a prayer… That's a whole revelation for me."

"You're Sodor's precious jewel, Emily," said Thomas between tears of joy as well. "Perhaps someday other flowers will arrive at our garden… but I'm sure no one of them will be as special as you… Please don't be so rude to yourself because of your mistakes… They're part of life… Besides, you've virtues that overshadow all of them, and we all love you just the way you are."

"Oh…" Emily smiled, "and I love you all, Thomas… Let me tell you something... From the first time I saw you and Percy, I imagine that you two are the kids of the railway, because your cute faces remind me the human kids, and I love to think that I am as a mother to you... I hope I didn't bother you with this revelation... I've wanted to tell you this for a long time."

Thomas giggled. "Why does it would bother me?" he said. "That's precisely your bigger virtue, Emily; that sweet motherly love that comes from your heart and envelops us all."

Emily looked at Thomas affectionately. His words made her remember what Edward had said to her the previous winter; _"That motherly love is the most sublime virtue you have... If you want to see us all as your children; do it."_ Emily also remembered what her 'big kid Henry' had said; _"You're an angel to me."_ Her heart flamed with love at this moment, and she thought it was time to find out if the whisper's prophecy would be fulfilled.

"Your words make me so happy, Thomas...," said Emily, "I'm sure that Heaven decided to send you to me this night... Ever since the moment you mentioned the Angel of the Engines, I've the feeling that the bigger mistakes I made have had a purpose, as if they formed part of a higher plan... After having being bossy to you for you didn't want to use your snowplough; I had a heartwarming conversation with Edward and the following day I enjoyed a Christmas party with you... Some days ago, after I've made a fool of myself by pulling the Express; I spent a funny moment with James at the wash-down and Gordon encouraged me with nice words... And today, after my incident with Elizabeth; a mysterious voice whispered to me that a certain dream of mine would come true, and then I saw a... cloud of golden dust in the sky, which made me think that the voice was from Lady."

"Wow…" Thomas was surprised. "It's good to hear all of that, Emily… I also think that everything formed part of a higher plan, and I'm sure that the whisper you heard today was from Lady… And speaking of it, if you wouldn't mind telling me... what is that dream of yours?"

Emily smiled. "I wish to know what hugging a baby and singing to put him or her to sleep feels like."

"O-oh... That's a sweet dream from a sweet mother... Perhaps tomorrow a woman will place her baby against your cheek and you'll sing a lullaby until he or she falls asleep."

"It could be… But the voice said that my dream would come true tonight."

"Oh, well... Then I think it could happen at any time. We've just to wait."

But Emily could not wait. Something inside her was saying that the time had come. She even believed to see particles of golden dust in the air. "Thomas…" she whispered.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to be… my baby? Just for this night… I want to hug you… If you don't mind…"

Thomas smiled. There was so much innocence in Emily's gaze and so much tenderness in her request that he was deeply touched. He was about to tell her that engines could not hug to each other, but if Lady had said that her dream would come true, then he could not discuss. "Of course I would like to be your baby, Emily..." said Thomas, "It'll be a privilege to fall asleep by hearing you sing."

"Aww…" Emily blushed.

And then, as if guided by an inner voice, Emily began to let off steam.

The steam moved mysteriously towards Thomas as if they were human arms, mingling with the particles of golden dust. Then, Thomas felt the 'arms' enfolded him... and Emily felt she was caressing Thomas' tanks.

"Emily..." whispered Thomas in surprise.

"Can you feel it?" asked Emily excitedly.

"Y-yes... It's like a... hug..."

"I feel so too." Emily could not believe it. She was hugging Thomas...

This little miracle was a gift from Lady; an ability that allowed the engines to use their steam as human arms to embrace one another, as long as there is affection between them. And between Emily and Thomas there was a pure, innocent sibling affection. Emily felt blessed by this miracle, and she noticed that everything that happens in life, whether good or bad, is really part of a higher plan and destined to a happy ending. Now she knew the whisper she heard was Lady's voice.

"Are you comfortable, Thomas?" whispered Emily.

Thomas smiled shyly. "I-I feel like… a baby in his mother's arms…"

"Then… relax and sleep, my baby…" Emily looked sweetly at Thomas' eyes and began to sing softly the world's most famous lullaby…

 _Lullaby and good night_

 _With pink roses bedight_

 _With lilies o'er spread_

 _Is my baby's sweet head_

 _Lay thee down now and rest_

 _May thy slumber be blessed_

 _Lay thee down now and rest_

 _May thy slumber be blessed_

Thomas stayed open-mouthed before Emily's voice. It was the sweetest one he had ever heard. He felt Emily enfolded him in her sweet maternal embrace, and his eyelids soon became heavy. Then, Thomas fell asleep.

 _Lullaby and good night_

 _You're your mother's delight_

 _Shining angels beside_

 _My darling abide_

 _They will guard thee at rest_

 _Thou shalt wake on my breast_

 _They will guard thee at rest_

 _Thou shalt wake on my breast_

Emily's heart was filled of tenderness for Thomas. She saw that he had closed his eyes and his breathing was deep and slow, so she stayed humming the lullaby for a while. Emily wanted to keep this moment forever in her memory; this moment in which Thomas slept as a baby in her arms. Now she already knew what hugging a baby and singing to put him or her to sleep feels like. Emily's dream had come true. She continued hugging Thomas until she ran out of steam.

"Thank you, Lady…," whispered Emily as the particles of golden dust began to disappear. And she heard a soft voice in response. _"You're welcome, daughter of mine."_

Emily smiled as a tear of joy rolled her cheek. She looked at Thomas' cute face once again, still unable to believe what had happened. Then, she also closed her eyes and fell asleep.

And the sound of the rain was as a lullaby for her.

Emily and Thomas' sweet friendship would last forever.


	9. The Queen of Tidmouth

**A/N** **:** My OC Gabriel Sand is officially introduced in this chapter. He had already appeared in *Tears of Happiness*, but the events of that fic take place some years after this story, when Gabriel is already a married man. So, here you will be able to know him better, and I hope you like him. Oh, and if you want to know how I imagine his face, just think of the actor William Moseley. :)

Guest 4: Thanks for the lovely review. I agree with each of your words.

Drewdy59: Thank you, my little one. I'm happy to hear from you again.

* * *

 **CHAPTER IX  
**

 **THE QUEEN OF TIDMOUTH**

* * *

 _"Each of you has a place in my heart… You are all my treasures."_ -Emily

* * *

A pleasant sensation of warmth awakened him.

After a restful sleep, Thomas noticed that his boiler was starting to bubble. He remained with his eyes closed, remembering what had happened a few hours before. And a slight smile appeared in his cute face on feeling Emily's warm buffers against his. The lullaby sung by the beautiful emerald still sounded in his mind and heart. He remembered fondly that Edward had also sung him to sleep once.

Then, a lovely whisper interrupted his thoughts. "Thomas…"

"Mmm…?" it was Thomas' weak response. He did not want to open his eyes. He wanted to keep enjoying that moment.

"Looks like my baby wants to keep sleeping...," continued the whisper. "I think it'll be better if I keep silent."

"Mmm-hmm."

"Hee! Hee! It's so exciting to see you like this."

Thomas slowly opened his eyes and saw Emily's smiling face. He smiled back at her. "Good morning, Emily," he said softly.

"Good morning, Thomas. Did you sleep well?"

"I slept peacefully in your embrace… You're a tender mother… and you sing like an angel."

"Aww… thank you. I slept peacefully too… Now I know what a mother feels when her baby sleeps in her arms… It's something so beautiful… Thanks for having come here last night, Thomas… Oh, and thanks for having made a prayer asking Lady for a female steam engine."

"You're welcome, precious. Now I can see that that prayer was the best thing I made in my life."

"O-oh…" Emily smiled widely. "You're so lovely, Thomas… You make me happy."

Thomas looked at Emily affectionately. "I'm glad to see you happy… I felt a pain in my heart on seeing you crying last night… I hope you'll never be sad again. And I also hope that one day you can live at Tidmouth Sheds."

"Wow… If that happens, it'll be the happiest day of my life. You don't imagine how much fondness I feel for each one of you..."

"Emily… don't make me cry, okay?"

"Hee! Hee! Hee!"

Thomas and Emily talked for a while longer, and they were soon ready to leave the shed. Then they wished a happy day to each other and went out to do their jobs.

During the day, Thomas thought of giving Emily some surprise to let her know how much they loved her. He was eager for the night to come and get to talk to his friends about it. He knew they would agree and wanted to hear their opinions to decide what that surprise would be.

When night finally came, Thomas puffed quickly to Tidmouth Sheds and waited until his friends arrived. Then he told them how his night at Knapford with Emily had been.

"I went to see her because I thought she would be sad after her incident with Elizabeth," Thomas began by saying, "and I was not wrong. I found her with her eyelids swollen from crying so much."

Everyone was surprised. It was the first time they heard that Emily had cried so much.

"It hurts me to hear that," said Percy.

"My angel shouldn't be sad," added Henry.

"It hurt me too," continued Thomas, "even more so when she said she was... rubbish."

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Edward. "And what did you say to her, Thomas?"

"I asked her if she wanted to talk about what was bothering her, but she said she didn't want to remember it. Then it occurred to me to tell her about the night we asked Lady for a female steam engine. I told her that she is a gift from Heaven, and that Heaven never sends rubbish, just blessing."

Now the engines smiled.

"You did well, Thomas," said Edward. "It's good that she knows that she is not here by chance, but thanks to a higher plan. And how did she react?"

"Oh, she felt very happy. She said it was a revelation to know that she was the answer to a prayer. Then she told me something that surprised me a lot. She said that after her incident with Elizabeth, a voice whispered that one dream of hers would come true, and then she saw a cloud of golden dust in the sky."

Everyone gasped.

"Do you mean she saw Lady?"

"Yes, James, and the whisper she heard was Lady's voice."

"Wow… That was a privilege."

"And what dream of hers will come true, Thomas?"

"It already came true last night, Percy. She wished to know what hugging a baby and singing to put him or her to sleep feels like."

"Oh, my sweet angel!" exclaimed Henry. "No wonder she has wished that."

"But how did it happen?" asked Gordon. "We engines can't hug a baby."

Thomas smiled and took a deep breath as his friends waited for his answer. "You will not believe it…," he said, looking at nothing. "I was her baby… She hugged me tenderly... and she sang me until I fell asleep in her arms."

No engine spoke. All of them looked at Thomas open-mouthed.

Some eternal seconds passed until one decided to say something. It was James. "Perhaps you dreamed of that, Thomas. We've no arms like humans."

"Did I forget to say that the whisper she heard was Lady's voice, James? It was a miracle from Heaven! She used her steam to hug me, as if the steam was human arms… And we saw some particles of golden dust in it."

"WOOOW!" everyone exclaimed.

"So she used her steam…," said Edward. "It really was a miracle from Heaven."

"And could you feel it, Thomas?" asked Percy.

"Yes, I could. It was as the embrace that humans give each other. Oh, and then she sang a lullaby with the sweetest voice I ever heard."

"You're a really fortunate engine," said James. "I also heard her sing and I agree that her voice is the sweetest one ever."

"Fortunate is the least that can be said, James. I felt like Heaven... And I was thinking of giving her a surprise to let her know that we love her just the way she is."

"GOOD IDEA!" it was the general answer.

"And what do you think it could be the surprise, Thomas?" asked Henry eagerly.

"Well… I wanted to hear your opinions about it."

"I know!" exclaimed James. "How about if we invite her to spend one night here with us? She would be delighted."

"I support James' idea," said Gordon.

"Mee too!" added Percy.

"Certainly it's a great idea," affirmed Thomas. "But one of us should give her his place… We can't leave her outdoors."

The engines looked at each other. No one wanted to leave his place. Everyone wanted to stay there when Emily will be present. But after a while, Henry spoke. "I'm going to give her my place. She'll spend the night here, and I'll stay at Knapford when I finish taking the Flying Kipper."

"That's nice of you, Henry!" Thomas smiled. "Then it is decided. We're going to invite her to spend a night here."

"In addition to bringing her here," opined Edward, "we could give her something else."

"Do you have something in mind?"

"Yes, Thomas. But we're going to need Gabriel's help."

"Wow... Tell us about your idea."

Edward told his friends about his idea, and everyone agreed. So Thomas offered to talk with Gabriel in order to prepare the surprise. Now all the engines were looking forward to the big day. Better said; the big night.

The next day in the evening, Thomas went to Gabriel's house near Wellsworth Station. He found Gabriel sitting in the garden of his house with his Celtic harp, performing ' _Brian Boru's March'_ as the last rays of the Sun shone on the strings of the musical instrument.

Gabriel was the son of Edward's driver; Charlie Sand. He was a handsome young man with light brown hair and blue eyes. From his childhood he proved to have talent for music. He had a soft tenor voice and played the harp. His classmates used to tell him that he should forget the engines and devote himself to music, but Gabriel's greatest passion was the railway and he was determined to follow in his father's footsteps. His dream was to drive an engine as nice and kind as Edward. The Nº 2 engine was a very close friend of his. In fact, Edward was even his Math teacher when he was a kid...

* * *

"I hate Math! I hate Math!" complained the little Gabriel. "Why do we have to learn a lot of silly numbers?!"

"Because they're very useful," replied Edward.

"Useful? For giving headaches, perhaps!"

"I rather think that they're to avoid headaches…"

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, just look at my tender... There is a number there to identify me, and there are many numbers in my cab. There are also numbers at the platforms of the stations, on the phones, on the clocks... How will you work on the railway if you don't want to learn the numbers?"

Gabriel was silent. He realized that Edward was right, and his expression of anger gave rise to one of sadness. "But I can't manage to memorize the multiplication tables...," he said sadly. "I can't concentrate as I'm reciting them... And if I don't learn the times tables, everything else will be very difficult for me."

Edward felt pity for the little one and thought about how to help him. "Gabriel, I have an idea," said Edward after a while. "I could recite the times tables as you try to concentrate on my voice, and afterward we repeat together. What do you think?"

Gabriel raised his eyebrows. "Would you really do that for me, Edward?"

"Of course. Take your book and come to sit on my running-plate."

"Wow! I like that! I'll be back in no time."

Gabriel rushed into his house. It was the noon break time, so he was careful not to wake his father who was taking a little nap before returning to work. Soon he was back with his Math book in one hand and a box of chocolates in the other. He sat on Edward's running-plate and placed the book in such a way that Edward could see it. "These are the multiplication tables," he explained. "We should start with the 2 times table, because the 1 times table is veeery easy."

"Okay," said Edward. "Pay attention while I recite it."

Edward started to recite the 2 times table while Gabriel ate the chocolates. Then Gabriel repeated along with him, and in a little while the child repeated alone. Thanks to his natural talent for music, Gabriel had a great auditory memory. So he just needed to concentrate on Edward's voice to learn faster. His problem was that, in detesting Maths; the mere thought of having to memorize numbers made him lose the enthusiasm, making the concentration almost impossible when he studied alone. However, the voice of his good friend Edward was like... music to his ears.

After a few pleasant minutes of study, Gabriel stood up and pressed his cheek against his friend's. "Thank you, Edward," he said. "It was fun studying with you."

Edward closed his eyes and smiled as he felt Gabriel's soft skin against his. "You're welcome, my little boy," he responded. "Anytime."

"Tomorrow we'll study the 3 times table."

"Okay."

Gabriel said goodbye to Edward; took his book and entered his house.

And Edward looked fondly at the wrapping papers and chocolate scraps that decorated his running-plate...

* * *

Back in the present, Thomas did not want to interrupt Gabriel. He preferred to wait until he finished playing his beautiful musical piece. The harp produced a sound that appeared to be coming out of Heaven itself. It is not surprising that it is called _the instrument of angels_. Thomas imagined Emily's voice accompanied by the harp's sound and he breathed deeply.

As Gabriel finished his musical piece, Thomas blew his whistle. "Bravo!" he exclaimed.

"Thank you!" responded Gabriel. Then he left his harp and approached Thomas. "Good evening, my friend. What brings you out here?"

"Good evening, Gabriel. I came to see you on behalf of my friends. We would like to count on your help to give Emily a surprise."

Gabriel smiled. "I am at your service," he responded. He loved the engines and always liked helping them. So Thomas told him about the idea to surprise Emily. Thomas and his friends wanted her to feel as a queen the night she'll stay at Tidmouth Sheds. And Gabriel totally agreed. "That's a good idea, Thomas," said Gabriel. "I'll let you know when it's ready. We're going to make Emily feel happy."

"Oh... Thank you, Gabriel."

"You're welcome, boy."

Some days after, the surprise was ready.

When the great night came, Henry went to Knapford to talk to Emily. He found her in her shed, relaxing to rest. "Hello, Emily," he greeted.

"Hello, Henry," responded Emily. "To what I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"Oh…," Henry felt flattered. "We want to invite you to spend the night at Tidmouth Sheds."

"Wow! That's something I wanted for a long time. I'll have no problem to remain next to the building. My crew can cover my tender with a tarpaulin to protect it from dew."

Henry smiled sweetly. "No, Emily," he said, "we're not going to leave you outdoors. You'll stay in my berth, and I'll stay here when I finish taking the Flying Kipper."

"Oh, Henry... Are you going to make that sacrifice for me?"

Henry slowly moved forward until he carefully touched Emily's buffers. "It's no sacrifice, Emily," he said. "On the contrary, it's a pleasure being able to do something for you. You've been so good to me since you came to Sodor… Even you already cared about me before I met you... You're a real angel... and I feel secure in your presence because I know I can trust you and always count on your help… Thank you, Emily… Thank you for being so sweet and compassionate."

Emily was touched. "Henry…," she said tenderly, "you don't need to thank me… You're a very honoured, kind engine, an engine that has already suffered enough… I'm pleased to be able to help you and I'm happy that we're friends… It touched me that you give me your berth to spend the night at Tidmoudh Sheds… but I would have liked you can stay there as well…"

"Don't worry," responded Henry, "tomorrow night, I'm going to come here to stay with you."

"Oh! That's a great idea! And we're going to talk a lot."

"Of course." Henry smiled. "By the way, Emily… um… Thomas said that you… hugged him with your steam… Do you think I can do it too?"

"Sure. Just wish it."

"Well… I…," Henry felt a little nervous, "I-I wish to hug you… If you don't mind…"

"Aww..." Emily smiled at her friend caringly. "Hug me, Henry... hug me… Let off your steam and Lady will do the rest."

"O-okay." Henry looked at Emily shyly while letting off his steam. Soon, some particles of golden dust began to appear in the air, and then Henry's steam moved towards Emily and hugged her boiler right behind her smoke-box. Henry could not believe it. "This is... a t-token of my affection," he whispered trembling, "for you to know that... I-I appreciate you a lot... and that our friendship will never end."

Emily felt a lump in her throat and could not respond. She smiled as a tear rolled her cheek, and then she closed her eyes to enjoy Henry's sweet, respectful embrace. Henry also closed his eyes, and he continued hugging Emily for a few wonderful minutes.

After a while, they opened their eyes. "I also appreciate you a lot, Henry," whispered Emily. "Thank you for your embrace… It was very comforting."

Henry blushed. "You're welcome, precious," he responded. "Well, we must go now. Our friends are waiting for us."

"Okay. Let's go."

The two friends set off for Tidmouth, where the big surprise for Emily was ready.

On arriving at the sheds, Emily steamed onto the turntable. "Hello everyone!" she greeted. "Hello Emily!" responded all the engines. Emily saw that Duck and Oliver were parked on one side of the building and Toby and Henrietta on the other side, and she wondered what they might be doing there at that hour. "Thanks for inviting me to spend the night here," said Emily as she entered Henry's berth between James and Thomas. "This is something I wanted for a long time."

"You're welcome, Emily," replied Thomas.

"We hope you enjoy your stay here," added Percy, who was beside the Nº 1.

Emily smiled. "I'm sure I'll enjoy it, Percy."

"Emily," said Henry, who had stayed on the turntable, "we want you to know that we all love you just the way you're, and that's why we invited you to come here. This night you'll be the Queen of Tidmouth and we're going to pay an affectionate and well-deserved homage to you."

"O-oh...," replied Emily, touched. "What have I done to deserve homage?"

"Well, you're very sweet and compassionate," said Edward.

"And a talented, beautiful lady," added James.

"And a realy useful engine," opined Gordon.

"And extremely brave!" exclaimed Oliver.

"Do you see, Emily?" asked Thomas. "You've virtues that make you very special. And, as I told you some days ago, your biggest virtue is that sweet motherly love that comes from your heart and envelops us all."

"Oh, my dears," Emily blushed, "thanks for your words of affection… You all make me feel like a real queen."

"Glad to hear that, Emily," said Henry, "because in fact you are our queen. And now, let the homage begin."

At that time, a group of children came out of Henrietta and went to place themselves in front of Emily. All of them had a red rose decorated with a white ribbon in their hands, and they wore emerald-green clothes. Emily smiled at them with affection, and her heart began to beat strongly as she wondered what they would do. Soon, Gabriel appeared with a concert harp and placed himself near the children.

Emily gulped. Now she knew what would happen.

After a small introduction with the sweet sound of the harp, the children began to sing.

 _"There's no one quite like Emily…"_

 _"Oh, my Gosh!"_ thought Emily, trying to hold back her tears. She did not expect a song composed exclusively for her.

The song spoke about Emily's virtues. The phrases were conceived by the engines, while Gabriel composed the music giving it a melody special to be sung by the children.

As for the roses the children carried in their hands; this had been an idea from James. The Nº 5 engine knew Emily's fascination with the red roses.

Emily enjoyed the song, smiling while some tears escaped from her eyes. And a wave of happiness invaded her soul as all the engines joined the children to sing the last part of the song. The voices of the impressive choir echoed in the sheds, and Emily did her utmost not to cry. Emily had the feeling that sir James Stirling was smiling at her from Heaven. He had said to her _"there will be no one quite like you"_ , and according to the song that now echoed in the sheds, the prophecy had been fulfilled.

When the song ended, Emily smiled widely while her friends blew their whistles. Then the children approached her and placed the roses over her running-plate. Emily was about to thank them, but she stayed open-mouthed on seeing that each rose had the name of one of her friends written on the white ribbon. This was so emotional for her that now she could no longer contain herself. So, Emily closed her eyes and broke out in tears.

Immediately, the children got to caresse Emily's buffer-beam with their little hands, and the engines looked at the scene fondly.

After a while, Emily opened her eyes again and smiled between her tears. "Thank you, little ones," she said. "You are all lovely."

"You're welcome, Emily!" responded the children.

The children would have liked to stay a bit longer, but it was already bedtime and they had to go home. So they said goodbye to Emily and boarded Henrietta.

Toby and Henrietta also said goodbye to Emily, just like Duck and Oliver who had to return to Arlesburgh.

After they left, Emily took a deep breath and looked at her friends. "My dears...," she said softly, "my beloved friends... I-I don't know what to say... The homage was just awesome and sweet... I love you all... Each of you has a place in my heart and I feel very happy to be here in your company… You are all my treasures."

The engines were touched by Emily's words.

"You're also our treasure, Emily," said Edward tenderly. "We love you."

"We want happiness to be the sole reason for your tears," added Percy.

"Aww…," Emily smiled. "With so much affection from you all, my tears can only be of happiness." Then Emily looked at Gabriel. "And you, charming gentleman, it's not in vain that you've an archangel's name. Thanks for helping my friends with this surprise. The song and choir made me shiver with excitement."

"You're welcome, charming lady," responded Gabriel, "you deserved that. But the party is not over yet."

"Wow! Is there more?"

"Yes, there is. Your friends told me that you're the flower of their garden, so I'm going to play a melody special for you. It's called _'Waltz of the Flowers'_."

"Oh, my… Go ahead!"

Then, Gabriel's fingers softly slipped over the harp strings, playing the chords of the beautiful waltz.

Emily felt blessed. As she enjoyed the music, her glance swept the roses that embellished her running-plate. She read with tenderness the names of her friends written on them, and her heart pounded on seeing the one that contained James' name. Emily closed her eyes. _"Why do I like you so much, my troublesome engine?"_ she thought. _"I fail to understand... All I can say is… my heart is red."_

At the end of the waltz, the engines blew their whistles and Gabriel bowed before them. Emily was delighted.

After the exchange of congratulations and thanks between Gabriel and his select audience, Gordon had an idea.

"Emily," said Gordon, "James and Thomas have already had the pleasure of hearing you sing. Could you sing to all of us now?"

"Oh... well..." Emily was taken by surprise.

"Please, Emily," said Percy. "Allow us to hear your lovely voice."

"Oh! And maybe Gabriel could accompany you with the harp!" exclaimed Thomas.

"I have no problem," replied Gabriel.

"Come on, Emily," encouraged James, and then he added in a low voice, "kindly mermaid..."

Emily blushed deeply before James' charming whisper. She realized that all eyes were on her and she got a bit nervous, but she was determined to please her friends. They had given her such a wonderful surprise that she felt indebted to them. "Okay, my dears," she responded, "I'm going to sing to you all."

"YEEEES!"

"Hee! Hee!" Emily thought quickly of a song, and then she looked at the gentleman in front of her. "Um... Gabriel, I would like to sing the song that you played on St. Patrick's Day, _'When Irish Eyes Are Smiling'_. Could you accompany me?"

Gabriel's jaw dropped. "Are you going to sing that, precious?"

"Y-yes."

"My goodness! It'll be my pleasure to accompany you."

Emily trembled a little as Gabriel played the intro to the song. But fortunately, her nervousness disappeared as soon as she began to sing.

Emily's voice mixed with the sound of the harp turned Tidmouth Sheds into a piece of Heaven at that moment. The engines looked at each other with their best smiles. They were simply enchanted by their queen. As Emily reached the phrase ' _you can hear the angels sing'_ they sighed of emotion, because in fact, they were hearing an angel's voice. And when Emily sang ' _for your smile is a part of the love in your heart'_ ; they felt that she was perfectly portraying herself with those words. Emily's sweet smile was really a part of the love she had in her maternal heart.

James in particular was as hypnotized by the _kindly mermaid_ as the first time he heard her sing. He looked at the roses on Emily's running-plate and he wondered which of them would be the one that contained his name. Perhaps that rose that was closer to her long hair; or perhaps the one that was right under her face and had the privilege of being the first to caress her with its aroma everytime she breathed...

Gabriel was also enjoying the song. He loved Ireland. A few years ago he and his classmates made a trip to the Emerald Isle upon finishing high school, and since then he was in love with it. So, it was a delight for him to hear Emily performing this lovely musical piece.

 _When Irish eyes are smiling_

 _Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring_

 _In the lilt of Irish laughter_

 _You can hear the angels sing_

Gabriel was so excited that he joined his voice to Emily's giving a grand finale to the song…

 _When Irish hearts are happy_

 _All the world seems bright and gay_

 _And when Irish eyes are smiling_

 _Sure, they steal your heart away_

Six whistles followed by three cheers for the artists echoed in the sheds.

Emily and Gabriel thanked the ovation and they also congratulated each other for their performance. The party was wonderful and everyone was pleased and happy, and Emily could hardly believe that she was the reason for all that celebration.

Gabriel continued to play some musical themes until the time came when Henry was to take the Flying Kipper. Then he said goodbye to his friends.

"Thanks for inviting me to join this party, guys," he said. "I've had a lot of fun with you."

"It's we who ought to thank you, Gabriel," said Thomas. "It was very nice of you to help us prepare this party."

"Thomas is right," added Emily. "What you did is priceless. I'll never forget this night."

"It was my pleasure to help you, my friends," replied Gabriel. "And as for you, precious Emily, I'm glad to know that you enjoyed your homage. I would like to stay longer here, but I must already go home. So, goodnight everyone."

"Good night, Gabriel!"

Gabriel took his harp and approached Henry, and the crew members helped him place the heavy instrument to the cab.

"Have a good rest, Emily," said Henry before leaving.

"Thank you, Henry," replied Emily sweetly. "Have a good journey."

And Henry left to take Gabriel home and take the Flying Kipper.

Emily looked at her friends. "Thanks again for the homage, my treasures," she said. "The song and the roses were very tender gestures for me. You're wonderful and I feel privileged to be your friend."

All engines smiled at Emily with affection.

"You brought tenderness into our lives," said Thomas, "and you stole our hearts away with your smile... This homage was the least we could do to show you what you mean to us... Thanks for existing, Emily... Thanks for being a lady…"

Emily swallowed hard. "Thomas...," she whispered, "don't make me cry... or I won't be able to sleep because of happiness..."

Everyone chuckled.

"Don't worry, precious," responded Thomas, "we're going to help you sleep."

"Really?"

"Yes. Close your eyes and relax..." Thomas winked.

Emily smiled. She knew what her friends would do. "Okay," she said. "Goodnight, Thomas… Goodnight everyone."

"Goodnight, Emily!"

Emily closed her eyes. Then, Thomas began to sing soft and slowly, _"There's no one quite like Emily…"_

And all the engines sang with Thomas.

Emily relaxed as she listened fondly to the lullaby from her friends. _"I love them... I love them...,"_ she thought until she fell asleep.

At the end of the song, the engines smiled at each other, feeling proud of their queen. And then they fell asleep too. But James stayed awake longer. He could not stop looking at Emily. At last he was having the opportunity to admire her curves without her realizing...

From her cloud of golden dust, Lady smiled tenderly at the engines. "My beloved ones," she said, "you deserve the company of your queen... In a little while longer, she'll move to Tidmouth Sheds..."


	10. Home at Last

**A/N:** Dear readers, this is the last chapter of the current fic. I really enjoyed to write this story because I learned many things thanks to the investigations I made, and I also realized that you can never take for granted how many chapters a fic will have or what things each one will include, since ideas come to the mind while they are being written. When I decided to write this story I only thought of a maximum of three chapters, but this is the time when I am surprised to see that it has ten, and I feel happy about that.

But I must also say that not everything was a bed of roses, since there was something I did not like to write at all: the _other side_ of Emily. It was really frustrating not to be able to ignore certain episodes that we all hate, but my consolation is that it was not my fault that the writers have portrayed Emily totally out of character at that era... Even so, I apologize to the readers who were left with a bad taste in their mouth after reading certain events of this fic. Fortunately, Brenner (the true Angel of the Engines) brought us back the sweet Emily we all love.

Thank you all for having supported this fic!

Guest 4: I love to read your beautiful comments and I am honoured to know that you enjoy my stories. Thanks for being a loyal reader.

See you in the next fic. :)

* * *

 **CHAPTER X (Final)**

 **HOME AT LAST**

* * *

 _"From now on, she'll stay at Tidmouth Sheds."_ -Sir Topham Hatt (CAE)

* * *

The first time she saw Tidmouth Sheds when she was new on Sodor she had been delighted with the home of her dearest friends. And it is supposed that she should be even more delighted now, since the building looked beautiful with its new paint and even seemed larger than before. But Emily was sad. Very sad, indeed.

Emily and her friends were in front of the sheds, watching them from the other side of the turntable while Sir Topham Hatt inspected the building with a satisfied smile.

The building of Tidmouth Sheds had just been rebuilt after it was totally demolished a few weeks earlier. The engines did not know why Sir Topham Hatt had taken such a drastic decision, as the previous building had no problem. But they knew that their boss only did what it was convenient for the railroad and its engines, so they were all now happy with their new home.

All of them, except Emily. She only sighed sadly.

The previous days had been very hard for the engines. In addition to having to find other places to sleep while the sheds were rebuilt, they had to endure a pitched battle against the diesel engines...

* * *

Summer was coming close and an airport was being built in Sodor to attract more tourists to the island. Sir Topham Hatt assigned tasks to all his engines, but the steam engines did not want to work along with the diesels and vice versa, so the confrontations between them began. And things only got worse when a storm wreaked havoc on the island and the engines were forced to work harder so everything was ready for summer. The confrontations became so hard that repairs were delayed instead of advancing, to the point where Sir Topham Hatt announced that the island probably could not receive tourists that summer. The engines shuddered at the news and they knew that they were to blame for the delays, but it was impossible for them to work properly while fighting with each other.

Thomas in particular was very concerned about the situation, and that left him so stressed that while sleeping his whistle blew involuntarily in an attempt to release tension. And since he spent the nights at Knapford Sheds during those days, poor Emily could not sleep because of his whistles... This caused Emily to be angry with him instead of enjoying his company. But deep down, Emily was worried about his well-being, because she came to understand that this behavior of him was the result of the stress he was suffering.

One of those nights, when things were worse than ever, Lady appeared in a dream to Thomas and told him what to do in order to stop the confrontations with the diesels engines: forget their differences and work together as a real team. That angelic advice made Thomas completely change his attitude towards the diesels. So, with the help from Mavis; the beautiful female diesel engine, Thomas called all the engines to a meeting and told them about Lady's plan. As a result, the battle was over and everyone worked together happily. The damages were repaired and the island could be ready just in time to receive the tourists.

And of course, the rebuilding of the Tidmouth sheds could continue. Thomas was more relaxed and Emily enjoyed his company at Knapford during the following nights.

* * *

Now, the engines finally had their home rebuilt and they could return to it.

And that was precisely the reason for Emily's sadness.

It was not that Emily wanted her friends to keep sleeping in different places and suffering discomforts, but she felt sad because now Thomas would no longer spend the nights with her at Knapford. _"I'm going to miss you, my cute little brother,"_ she thought, looking at Thomas, _"but I know this is your place and I'm no one to stop you coming back here."_

Emily sighed on seeing Thomas so happy. Then she took one last look at the sheds before returning to Knapford. The new building really seemed larger than before, and it looked splendid with the sunset's reddish clouds as background.

Emily was about to leave when Percy caught everyone's attention.

"There's an extra space!" exclaimed the little Nº 6.

And it was true. The building not only looked larger, but it was really larger. It had now seven sheds instead of six. Everyone was surprised, wondering who this extra place would be for. Then Sir Topham Hatt uttered a few words that not only answered their question but made their boilers bubble of happiness...

"The other space IS FOR EMILY. From now on, she'll stay at Tidmouth Sheds."

"WOW!" screamed Emily and burst into tears. She could barely believe what her controller had said.

The engines blew their whistles with all their strength and they also shed tears of emotion. Sir Topham Hatt caringly looked at all of them, especially at Emily.

After a few noisy seconds of celebration, Emily managed to speak. "Sir...," she said in a breathy voice, "was that why you commanded to do the building larger... so that I could move to here?"

Sir Topham Hatt smiled at her. "Yes, Emily," he replied as he walked towards her. "When I heard about the emotional tribute that your friends made to you I was left pleasantly surprised, for I never imagined that they loved you so much. So I decided that you should be here with them."

"But... it must have cost... a lot of money..."

"That's right; it really cost a lot of money. But for me, the happiness of my engines is priceless." Sir Topham Hatt placed a hand on Emily's buffer. "I hope you'll be very happy in your new home, Emily," he said. "You deserve it."

"Thank you, sir... thank you...," Emily could barely speak, "you are a wonderful person... I... I..." Emily could not continue. She closed her eyes and wept again. Her soul was full of happiness. Her greatest dream had come true.

As Emily stopped crying, Henry called her sweetly. "Emily… precious," said the Nº 3, "come into your shed... Allow us to see you there."

Emily smiled between her tears. "Okay," she replied and puffed onto the turntable. As she reversed to her shed, Sir Topham Hatt's words were rolling around in her mind, _"The other space is for Emily... From now on, she'll stay at Tidmouth Sheds..."_ Emily felt that those words had just marked a before and an after in her life.

When Emily stopped at the door of her shed, the engines and Sir Topham Hatt looked at her tenderly.

"LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!" shouted Thomas.

"LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!" replied everyone.

Emily could not believe what was happening. She smiled widely as her friends cheered at her. She had never felt so happy. "My dears," she said afterward, "come here with me… I have something to say."

One by one, the engines entered their sheds under the sweet gaze of Emily. Then, Emily looked up at the sky and made a touching prayer…

"Oh, Angel of the Engines… This is a moment which I never thought would come; the moment of moving into Tidmouth Sheds to live with my beloved friends… They had asked you for a female steam engine, and I feel very blessed to have been the answer to their prayer... My heart is simply full of gratitude for everything I had the privilege to live… Please tell sir Patrick Stirling that I thank him for having designed me... Tell his brother James that I thank him for having received me so kindly when I was born, and that I always remember both of them with affection… Oh, Lady… I thank you very much for sending me here... and I ask you to help me to overcome my defects in order to be a really useful engine for my controller and a good sister for my friends... Amen."

"AMEN!"

At that moment, a shooting star crossed the sky leaving behind a trail of golden dust, and all the engines smiled between tears before the vision. And Sir Topham Hatt too.

Emily's life could not be better. While her friends addressed words of fondness to her, she thanked Heaven for each of them.

That night was one of the most beautiful at Tidmouth Sheds.

The flower was in her garden.

The queen was on her throne.

Sodor's precious jewel was at home.

...

* * *

 ** _THE END_**

* * *

...

Songs used in the fic:

 _ _"__ _ _ _Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht_ " (__ _ _ _Silent Night)_ __ \- Joseph Mohr, Franz Xaver Gruber

 _"O Tannenbaum" (_ _O Christmas Tree)_ \- Ernst Anschütz

 _"Wiegenlied" (Lullaby)_ \- Johannes Brahms

 _"There's No One Quite Like Emily"_ \- Ed Welch, Robert Hartshorne

 _"When Irish Eyes Are Smiling"_ \- Ernest Ball, Chauncey Olcott, George Graff Jr.

Instrumental musics:

 _"Brian Boru's March"_ \- Traditional Irish tune

 _"Waltz of the Flowers"_ \- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky


End file.
